| Air flow is one of the most important aspects of a data center and regulating and distributing it correctly is the most common error made by data center managers today. TSG believes there are several factors that can contribute to inefficient air flow. They include incorrect cable management, unobstructed air movement between rack rails that inset from the side of an enclosure, monitors on shelves, tower servers or odd shaped equipment, and a lack of use of blanking panels. All of these items will create inefficient air flow and waste valuable resources.
If cables are not managed correctly, air can escape around them and diffuse all of the air control. Open side areas permit exhaust air to return to computer equipment air intake, which will result in overheating and premature equipment failure. Monitors and tower servers can be installed on separate carts within the data center to minimize their impact. In mounting one, two, or four U computers, unused spaces should be filled with blanking panels so no empty slots or spots remain to contribute to air loss.
Another way to maximize air movement is through precision directed cooling. There are multiple types of cooling systems available for a high-density data center, and all have different positive and negative repercussions to thermal management. It is a proven fact that the most efficient way is to control temperature through precision regulated delivery.
TSG believes that we can maximize precision delivery by completely separating air in hot and cold aisles. We manage this by completely separating them. We utilize a system of fans and blowers for air delivery removal. We also use exhaust fans to flush hot aisle air out into the atmosphere. Utilization of the outside atmosphere and internal circulation can reduce air conditioning and heating costs by a substantial margin. This could equate to savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars every year depending on the size of your building.
Many of our most efficient installations utilize raised floors. We recommend them along with an effective circulation medium to deliver outside air into the environment. We believe that raised flooring, combined with advanced air distribution, will help decrease the overall expenditure of power. Although raised floors in all situations are not necessary, we have found that by utilizing them correctly they can have a significant financial impact. A great number of data center builders ignore the use of raised floors because of added expense, but we have found them effective.
When we combine our air flow and venting designs with the incorporation of outside atmosphere, we can offer our clients a long–term savings and a viable strategy for their business. |
