How to Keep the Server Room Cool

Published February 18, 2010

Centralization, and in some cases outsourcing to off-site hosted facilities, is a current trend that continues to unfold in response to the 2008/2009 recession.

This centralization has placed a tremendous focus on the construction of new, more reliable, and more redundant infrastructure than ever before.

Did you catch the operative words there? "New" and "More" ... Yes, as this centralization brings a greater amount of technology closer together physically, so too does it centralize the consumption of power ... and naturally the generation of heat.

It's easy to take data center HVAC systems for granted. They operate with little ongoing maintenance and accommodate modest ongoing growth without upgrade or change.

Many existing data center HVAC systems, however, may not incorporate the level of scalability demanded by the times. This is especially true for managers of small and medium-sized business server rooms and private, corporate data centers where the HVAC systems were designed around the narrow scope of a traditional client/server environment.

All of this makes now a good time to proactively look at data center HVAC systems to determine the level of upward mobility available.

Christian Perry of Processor Magazine offers an article with tips like using temperature monitors strategically positioned throughout the data center to monitor temperatures over time and implementing power management systems that reduce the stress placed upon HVAC systems.

Remember, infrastructure projects like these should take a well-planned and methodical approach. Allow a few months to track and develop metrics before doing anything. This also gives your team ample time to carefully analyze the alternatives, reach out to specialists, and determine the degree of future expandability to build in to any upgrades.

In cases where improvements are being made to systems already in place, Eric Silva of E&S Construction Engineers in Maryland recommends taking an integrated approach.

Simply implementing a patch to fix a heating problem or otherwise making an improvement without proper planning, he says, "will cause the system to compensate in some other area."

Silva also reminds that engineers who engage regularly in developing HVAC systems in data centers have a broad base of proven expertise they use to routinely develop the most cost effective solution possible.

Keeping server rooms cool

Anonymous, February 24, 2010 - 11:32

Interesting point about the centralization of data centers providing an avenue for new construction of more reliable infrastructure. Planning is paramount with any critical environment. But it seems we need two plans -- one for what works in a perfect world, and another for what to do when the plan doesn't work! Guess that's the back-up plan!

As a US manufacturer of portable air conditioning systems, we have witnessed tremendous growth in the data center and telecommunications market. Portable air conditioners can be used as primary server room air conditioners for small data closets and are often used in data centers for hot spots when the original plan encounters a speed bump in the road to the perfect data center environment. And of course, spot coolers are used for emergency cooling when the air conditioning system goes down or has to be interrupted for maintenance.

I like Silva's approach.... take time and evaluate the entire system. That really will save money in the long run. Not to mention downtime and aggravation.

Tina Behnke
www.AirPacInc.com
tbs@airpacinc.com

What Does Climate Change Disclosure Mean for Green Building? Did you know your company may have a duty to disclose how climate change may impact your business? That requirement could affect the green building industry as well....	The State of Green Business -- and Building Efficiency Energy efficiency, particularly in buildings, went swimmingly in 2009, in part due to the stimulus package. The outlook for 2010 is likely to be even better since the bulk of the non-bailout stimulus spending will hit the streets this year....
Safeway Enlists Hara to Shrink Energy Use and Carbon Footprint With 1,730 stores in the U.S. and western Canada, Safeway Inc. has contracted with environmental and energy management software firm Hara to help reduce energy consumption as well as the retail grocer's greenhouse gas emissions....	New Association to Support, Promote Green Building Products The new Green Product Association is a non-profit focused on making sustainable building products more mainstream by connecting architects with green products and helping companies promote their wares. ...
Shaw Helps GSA Slash Energy Consumption Shaw Group Inc. will provide a range of energy services to the U.S. General Services Administration as part of the agency's efforts to make government buildings more efficient....	Nanofibers Developed For Energy-Producing Clothes Researchers have created nanofibers that could be woven into clothing and harvest energy from the wearer's movements in order to power small electronics. ...
What Is -- and What Isn't -- Responsible Electronics Recycling Companies want to do the right thing when dealing with their discarded electronics, but a recycling certification developed by the industry and manufacturers is only muddying the waters. How do you know your recycler is working in line with your firm's principles?...	Asian Data Centers to Continue Energy-Guzzling Ways? New research from Frost & Sullivan finds that data center operations in Asia are growing rapidly and so far unaffected by the recession, but that green IT practices are not growing at the same rate....

Alternative content

How to Keep the Server Room Cool

Comments (1)

Keeping server rooms cool

Register for GreenBiz Events

Alternative content

Blogs

How to Keep the Server Room Cool

Comments (1)

Keeping server rooms cool

Register for GreenBiz Events