Among the countless considerations to data center planning are temperature and humidity controls. Companies can invest as much as $200 million into building data centers, so of course many decisions are to be made. Some include where to build depending on the operation needs. For example, regions prone to floods, earthquakes, or any natural disasters are considered and typically avoided when building data centers.
However, within the design surrounding temperature and humidity control, there are other major decisions to be made.
- CRAC or AHU?
- Slab floor or raised floor?
- Forced enclosures on hot isle/cold isle or not?
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Data centers with raised floors generally use CRAC (computer room air conditioning) unit. These air conditioning units create an airflow system to cool the temperatures of the air at the server air intakes.
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Data centers with raised floors generally use CRAC (computer room air conditioning) unit. These air conditioning units create an airflow system to cool the temperatures of the air at the server air intakes.The CRAC units pull the hot air into the unit to cool, then push the cold air into the area underneath the floor. The cold air is then pushed through the floor vents into a cold isle where server racks have their air intakes facing the cold isle. This system is quite intelligently designed by utilizing the behavior of airflow.
Air Handling Units are typically rooftop intakes or sidewall louvers. These appliances can be economized when paired with equipment allowing AHUs to use the outside air (when it is cool enough) to cool the servers.
The slab or raised floor design is a topic of heated debate. Slab floors provide a better foundation for data centers, however, this forces overhead cooling designs. Thus, maintenance on overhead vents become a bit precarious over expensive and critical servers. Raised floors on the other hand, allow easy access for maintenance, but also has a weaker foundation.
When deciding on a good design, it really depends on the layout of the data center facility. A data center enclosed in a small area may require a raised floor plan. Some centers require higher density cabinets. In the best case scenario, it’s easier, if possible, to provide more space between cabinets to allow hot air to dissipate.
-Laura S.
Server room environmental & security monitoring systems
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