The five questions that decide a project

01PowerIs a grid connection available, and when?02LandBrownfield, business park, landowner: what is the site worth?03DemandWho will use the capacity?04Local acceptanceWater, noise, heat, jobs: which figures to prepare?05Local benefitsTax, jobs, spillovers: what to expect?

Offer · Acoustic review and commitments

Noise is one of neighbours' first questions, and one of the easiest to make objective. We review the acoustic study, check that it covers night-time, summer and generator testing, and help frame measurable commitments.

You receive:

  • a review of the baseline and predictive acoustic study
  • weak points: night, full summer load, low frequencies, testing
  • commitments to write down: testing hours, post-commissioning measurements
  • clear answers for the public meeting

First conversation confidential and with no commitment. Fixed fees proposed in writing before any assignment. Best-efforts obligation.

The problem. A data center runs day and night. What disturbs is not the building but its outdoor equipment, especially at night when background noise drops. An acoustic study done in daytime at partial load reassures wrongly.

WHAT THE RULES SAY

For classified installations under authorisation, the French order of 23 January 1997 limits emergence, the difference between ambient noise with the installation and residual noise without it, in residential areas:

Ambient noise (installation included)Day, 7am-10pmNight, 10pm-7am, Sundays and holidays
Above 35 and up to 45 dB(A)6 dB(A)4 dB(A)
Above 45 dB(A)5 dB(A)3 dB(A)

At the property boundary, the prefectoral order sets levels that in principle cannot exceed 70 dB(A) by day and 60 dB(A) at night. Other regimes have comparable requirements; outside classified installations, public health code rules on neighbourhood noise apply.

WHO IS INVOLVED

Francis Gillard

Francis Gillard

Data center design & audits

Thirty years in HVAC, twenty in data centers: design, audits and risk analyses up to 30 MW. Read profile →

Blandine Cazelles

Blandine Cazelles

Crisis communication & public affairs

Founder of a network of senior crisis management experts, former regional head of communications at La Poste, former Senate chief of staff. Read profile →

HOW IT WORKS

A first conversation. You describe the project and the decision at stake. We tell you whether we can help, and who will be involved.
A confidentiality agreement. Signed before you send us any document.
A written, fixed-fee proposal. Scope, deliverables, timeline and fees set in advance: no open-ended time-based billing.
The assignment and debrief. A written deliverable, a debrief session, and the questions to put to the grid operator or your partners.

WHAT WE COMMIT TO

Recent assignments

Review of connection documents and the announced energisation date for a European data center developer, ahead of its investment decision. Audit of high-voltage equipment sourcing for a petrochemical group.

Independence

We do not design, build or sell equipment. No commission, no brokerage. Never on both sides of the same project.

Framework

Confidentiality agreement before any document. Professional liability insurance. Best-efforts obligation: only RTE and Enedis commit to capacity and a date.

DESCRIBE YOUR SITUATION

A few lines are enough: the project, the document or decision at stake, and your deadline. We come back to you to set up a first conversation.

First conversation confidential and with no commitment. Fixed fees proposed in writing before any assignment. Best-efforts obligation.

Source: order of 23 January 1997 on noise emitted by classified installations (AIDA, Ineris), in French. General information: the applicable regime depends on each installation.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is a data center noisy?

The building is not very noisy; its outdoor equipment is more so, especially at night and in summer. It depends on distance to homes and mitigation.