Air Conditioning

Data Centre Cooling and Air Conditioning

If not properly managed by Power Continuity, any build-up of heat can impact on server functionally or, in a worst-case scenario, lead to fire. Reliable air conditioning (A/C) is therefore essential. Definitely N+1 resilient A/C systems installed and monitored.

Regular service and maintenance is absolutely essential to ensure energy efficiency and to maintain the correct temperature and humidity.

Remote monitoring of all the equipment, aids the smooth running of the data centre. Complacency could mean resilience of the Data Centre is overlooked. Power Continuity always design a minimum of N+1 or even N+2, N+3 A/C systems to ensure the Data Centre cooling & Air Con never fails.

Air Filtration

A further benefit of A/C is air filtration. This is a additional advantage of A/C systems which remove the dirt and dust particles that will otherwise build up inside the servers. Without air filtration hidden issues develop leading to additional functionality issues.

Zinc Whiskers

Ever heard of the data centre phenomenon called ‘zinc whiskers’? These are tiny strands of zinc, thinner than a human hair, that can come from various sources. These build up secretly under raised floor panels, zinc-plated IT cabinets etc. Despite their size, a zinc whisker has the potential to cause short-circuits. When it becomes detached, gets circulated by the A/C and then sucked into a server to land on micro-circuitry. Thereafter they become almost invisible to the eye. Too late your server is down. The Solution is to regularly service the Cooling and all associated filter membranes.

In Conclusion

Although A/C will remove some of these whiskers from the air, it can, as described above, contribute to the problem. Policies and procedures therefore need to be in place to manage and reduce the possibility of this potential issue. Regular service and maintenance of every component of the A/C must be enacted. Hands on governance of the Data Centre will stop problems occurring.

Power Continuity insist it’s essential to plan carefully before choosing a data centre A/C system. Know the 24/7/365 running costs of the A/C. Similarly, calculate the overall expenditure. It is to be noted A/C costs associated with IT equipment cooling, can exceed the hardware costs. Conversely, with good Power Continuity design, planning, quality components, expert installation and regular monitoring, the running costs will be much less than the IT running costs. Power Continuity Systems would be happy to assist you with your Data Centre cooling & Air Con project from the very beginning.