Design for the architecture you have — and the one that’s coming
The shift to 800 VDC environments is putting adaptability to the test. Moving AC-to-DC conversion upstream and distributing 800 VDC directly to compute racks significantly changes the requirements for power conversion and distribution, as well as fault isolation, fault protection, fault containment, switching, and serviceability. Higher-density AI infrastructure also changes the relationship between electrical equipment, auxiliary systems, and the compute equipment they serve. Increasing power densities can affect equipment ratings, fault-current levels, and system isolation and protection schemes at each level, along with conductor sizing, thermal management, physical clearances, structural requirements, and service access. Adding new technologies creates additional dependencies between components from different suppliers, each designed around its own operating reference designs.
Traditional AC infrastructure will continue to be built as 800 VDC architectures come online and hybrid designs emerge.
The goal is not simply to reproduce the same E-house more efficiently, but to create a platform that can accommodate new technologies and requirements without starting over with every new design. Incorporating intelligent digital power conversion systems into E-house designs can accelerate deployment while reducing the risk of load volatility and misalignment with utility and generator requirements.
Vertical integration changes what can be moved upstream
Prefabrication alone does not eliminate the coordination required to deliver electrical infrastructure. E-houses may contain equipment from multiple suppliers, each with its own engineering requirements, schedules, connections, and testing procedures. Long lead times for critical electrical equipment and labor shortages put deployment schedules at risk. Vertical integration addresses complexity earlier in the process by bringing engineering decisions, supply chain considerations, and validation closer to the beginning of the development cycle.
Shorten the distance from design to ramp
Changes in one part of an E-house quickly affect another. A different piece of switchgear alters the enclosure layout. A component substitution introduces new electrical or mechanical requirements. Connecting engineering, sourcing, fabrication, and manufacturing creates a shorter feedback loop that informs engineering decisions and carries lessons into subsequent designs.
Build supply resilience into the design
Equipment availability influences whether a design can be reproduced at the right volume in the right locations. JLL reports that average U.S. data center equipment lead times are 83 percent above 2019 levels, even as manufacturers add capacity. Bringing supply chain expertise into the design process allows teams to consider qualified alternatives, common assemblies, regional sourcing options, and specifications that may unnecessarily restrict supply while changes are still practical and cost-effective.
Use factory testing to improve the platform
In a vertically integrated model, the design team and test lab sit inside the same organization. Failures found in testing feed directly back into engineering. Design changes, corrective actions, and lessons learned circulate quickly instead of crossing contractual boundaries between separate companies. Over many builds, this makes each successive module more reliable and repeatable. As AC, hybrid, and 800 VDC architectures coexist, that feedback loop helps testing capabilities advance alongside the systems themselves. The growing emphasis is reflected in UL 2755:2025, which expands requirements for prefabricated modular data centers to address increasingly distributed, interconnected architectures.
Consolidate accountability across the full system
As E-houses integrate more scope, from MV switchgear and transformation to LV distribution, controls, and 800 VDC conversion, the interfaces between subsystems become the most likely point of failure. Splitting them across vendors means each interface is only validated on site, with responsibility divided across contracts. A vertically integrated model provides single-vendor accountability: one organization engineers, builds, and validates the assembly together, so it can be proven as a unit in the factory, giving one point of ownership from design to energization as 800 VDC adds new conversion stages and grounding into the same enclosure.
Manufacturing readiness has to keep pace with the architecture
The value of a scalable E-house platform depends on whether the manufacturing model behind it can keep pace with the technology. New equipment and power systems may require different assembly processes, tooling, safety procedures, workforce skills, sourcing strategies, and test infrastructure. Vertical integration allows manufacturing capabilities to develop alongside technology.
We combine system design, engineering, fabrication, integration, and testing with a robust portfolio of switchgear, busway, power distribution, and controls within a coordinated model.
Learn more about our E-house manufacturing at the 2026 OCP Global Summit
