Many office workers know about their company’s server room but are rarely granted access. In most cases, it’s for security reasons, as the server room contains the heart of the company’s IT infrastructure, and accidental or intentional damage to the servers, switches, routers, cables, and other devices within can lead to enormous damage to the company’s operations.
However, should you ever venture inside, you might notice that the room is hotter than the other spaces in the office. This is caused by all the computing equipment generating heat. The problem this presents is that if the room gets too hot, the components inside are at risk of hardware malfunctions, reduced equipment lifespan, and potential data loss.
That’s why climate control in IT and server rooms is critical for every business that has one.
Keeping Your IT And Server Room Cool
Heat stress is the enemy of the delicate components in your server room, such as hard drives, CPUs, and motherboards. It can also cause issues that limit working capacity and reduce productivity with decreased response times, loss of stability, write errors, and data losses.
This makes heat stress the enemy of commercial property managers as well. Their challenge is to ensure proper airflow into the server room to protect their IT equipment from damage. However, unlike other rooms, you can’t just leave the door open as this space needs to be kept secure at all times, with only authorized personnel allowed access.
The unique needs of the server room require a specially designed climate control solution to protect your IT equipment from failure due to poor climate control.
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What To Consider For An Effective Cooling System In Your Server Room
In essence, an effective climate control solution for your server room needs to accomplish three main tasks:
- Automatically maintain a stable temperature level of approximately 20 degrees Celsius with little to no tolerance for deviation
- Be capable of efficiently removing heat from the room to prevent heat buildup, which often involves exhaust fans, air ducts, and other ventilation tools that maintain constant airflow
- Maintain humidity levels to prevent condensation buildup, equipment corrosion, and electrical failures that can put your IT infrastructure at risk
When you’re ready for a cost-effective, energy-efficient solution to ensure your server room is constantly under the right conditions to protect your equipment, call the experts at Springbank Mechanical Systems.
How Can Springbank Help Keep Your Server Room Cool?
As a leading commercial HVAC service provider in Toronto and Southern Ontario, we understand the unique needs of your server rooms. We can help you develop an effective cooling solution to keep your critical IT infrastructure at an optimum temperature to ensure ongoing, reliable performance.
Our solution would consider several factors that can influence the requirements of server room air conditioning, including:
Room Characteristics That Influence Airflow Dynamics
Our technicians will note several room characteristics that influence airflow dynamics, such as the size of the room, the type of equipment installed, equipment layout, and rack spacing. We’ll also identify hotspots that may occur from dense equipment configurations and poorly organized cabinets that block airflow pathways. Finally, we’ll check the configuration of air vents and ducts to determine current airflow patterns.
Environmental Factors That Influence The Server Room’s Temperature
This step takes into account several environmental factors that can impact the climate control of the server room, such as ambient temperature and humidity levels. These factors would need to be controlled to keep the room’s environment in optimal condition to prevent overheating and maintain reliable, consistent performance of your IT equipment.
The Server Room’s Cooling Load
Calculating the cooling load is critical in developing the right solution for the server room’s needs. We accomplish this by making a detailed assessment of various parameters, such as the number of servers in the room, the wattage of the servers and other heat-generating equipment in the room, the room’s insulation, and available airflow.
With this information and other details about your particular needs, we’ll develop a customized climate control solution for your server room that will help protect your IT infrastructure and minimize the chance of equipment failure due to temperature, airflow, and humidity control issues.
Read More: Why Choose Springbank?
Contact Springbank For Expert Commercial HVAC Service In Toronto And Southern Ontario
Our team of licensed commercial HVAC technicians is ready to help with smart, practical strategies that will optimize your energy consumption and extend the life of your equipment. Get in touch with our team today for a free, no-obligation discussion!
Gregg Little, Paul DeThomasis, and Hugo Lopes are co-owners of Springbank Mechanical Systems. You can reach them at 905-569-8990 or via email at gregg@springbank.com, paul@springbank.com, or hugo@springbank.com.