The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommends that the temperature for a data center should fall somewhere in the range of 64.4 to 80.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The perfect temperature for a data center is actually between 73 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. You never want to go higher than 82 degrees in that room, else you risk damaging your equipment.
The humidity in a data center can be anywhere from 20 to 80%. This is a surprisingly large window, considering how badly humidity can affect electronics. All told, these aren’t the hardest levels in the world to keep, especially if you’re also trying to keep your employees comfortable.
However, it is critical that your HVAC system maintain that temperature at all times. Anything lower than 64 degrees or higher than 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and you run the risk of losing your equipment and all your invaluable data.
At Ambient Edge, we have decades of experience installing top-of-the-line HVAC systems for data centers just like yours. We also know how important design is when installing an HVAC system in a data center. We leave no stone unturned.
Give us a call today for your free consultation. You can reach us or send us a message on our website to learn more.
Data Center Cooling Methods
If there’s one thing we’ve learned in the HVAC industry, it’s that there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to installing HVAC systems. The same goes for data centers. There are several different cooling methods available to data centers. You can have standard air conditioners or even just a fan present in the most basic of facilities (though just using a fan frankly scares us).
More complicated data centers, however, have a significant need for a more nuanced HVAC system. (Just imagine the ones they use at Google.) In fact, according to the American Power Conversion Corporation (APC), there are 13 different yet common ways to pull the heat out of a data center. Here are a few of the ones we’ve installed in the past.
Evaporative Containment
Evaporative containment is interesting because it uses water to pull heat out of a room. How does it do this? Well, the air in the room passes through a wet filter, which then cools it off. That now cooled air then passes through the cooling system. (Neat, right?)
Hot and Cold Aisle Containment
Many folks who run data centers love hot aisle containment because it’s both effective and affordable. In a hot aisle containment system, the system pulls the hot air out of one channel while the cold air goes only to the areas it needs to. This way, you’re only keeping part of the server closet cool, rather than the entire data center.
Cold aisle containment works the same. The only difference is that the system keeps the cool air where it’s needed in channels located between the hottest parts of the server room. This saves money and energy when you’re not cooling off the entire room. This works especially for data centers that don’t need that kind of power.
Liquid Cooling
Liquid cooling sounds similar to evaporative containment at first in that it uses liquid to cool the room. However, the process is different. For one thing, it doesn’t use water. With liquid cooling, some or all (depending on your needs) of your equipment sits in a pool of liquid that is safe for electronics to sit in. The liquid cools the equipment naturally without the need for a separate HVAC system.
Free Cooling
Free cooling is not for everyone. Free cooling largely depends on the kind of outside climate you live in else it will never work. With free cooling, you have an open-air plan wherein the temperature and humidity in the data center try to remain in sync with the temperature and humidity outside. This reduces the amount of energy the data center needs to use to cool off the facility.
You could never get away with using free cooling in places like California, Arizona, or even New York. This only works in areas with consistently colder temperatures and lower humidity rates, like the Arctic Circle.
Call (702) 944-8838 Today or Book Online for Heating and Cooling Service!
Installing an HVAC System in a Data Center
Where to put the HVAC system in your data center is just as important as the HVAC system you choose to install. A lot depends on the setup of the room itself. Do you have higher ceilings to accommodate larger equipment racks? Does your floor raise up to allow for better airflow? The technician must note things like this as he designs your HVAC plan.
More than any other business, it is so important to get the HVAC system in a data center right. You definitely don’t want to opt for a less expensive model if it’s not going to do the job you need it to do. Our team can work with you to help you find the right system for your particular setup.
Ambient Edge Can Help You Keep Your Data Center at the Right Temperature at All Times
With decades of HVAC experience at both the commercial and residential levels, our team knows just what to do and how to do it to keep your data center running efficiently and safely. We can also work with you on a preventive maintenance schedule so you never have to stress over your system breaking down. Give us a call today, and let’s take care of your data center together!
