Server Room Cooling
I have a server closet (300 square ft) that needs a cooling solution. There is currently a wall unit that doesnt work in winter months since the outside temp is below 50 degrees. Looking for cooling suggestions that are of a resonable cost.
Answers (7)
Zach S.
Director of Information Technology at EAS LeadGen | LION
Best Answers in: Lead Generation (3), Business Development (1)
Michael,
It would be ideal to install a seperate cooling system to serve only the server closet. If you have a wall unit through an opening or window now, I would be more worried about the security of someone breaking in through the opening rather than the cooling issue.
One easy cheap fix option would be to get a window AC unit and just keep it in the room on a crate or something. That way there is no outside air factors as it woudl just pull the air from the room and recirculate it. Another option would be to just run the fan part of the current AC unit as it will blow in outside air which would still be nice and chilly during the winter months
Dale W.
Information Technology Executive
Best Answers in: Computer Networking (3), Enterprise Software (1)
Seems to me that the cooler it is outside the better the AC unit should work...the purpose of the outside coil is to move air across it to remove heat which then circulates to the inside coil where it cools the air.
Beyond that, and the window suggestion, there are portable AC units that you can roll around which will take the room air and output cooler air. Here are a couple that our friend Google found.
http://www.servercool.com/
http://www.atlassales.com/aircooledproducts.html
Good luck,
Dale
Scott B.
Corporate IT Manager at Coupons Inc.
Best Answers in: Computers and Software (2), Information Security (1), Telecommunications (1), Using LinkedIn (1)
Hi!
First of all, I'm no AC guru but I can tell you how our set-up was...
How many servers/network equipment are we talking?
We had several zones built and our NOC was in a separate zone. There really isn't a way to keep the servers cumfy without having the office workers having to wear their winter gear dialy. Having separate zones you can contol the temps of each area.
It may be worth just calling a couple AC vendors that specialize in office work to give you a quote. At least you'll know what the cost would be and you might be surprised.
Another option is several vendors (I think APC is one of them) sell rack mount cooling solutions. Last time I checked these weren't cheap - but they are effective in keeping the area cool.
Good luck!
-Scott
Links:
What's your budget look like? And what's the heat load of the equipment in the room? Since you are using a wall unit, I am assuming your heat load is quite low. (Although there are some quite high-capacity wall units out there!)
APC has sealed cabinets that improve air-flow, perform some amount of humidity control, and remove heat very nicely. APC may be out of the question due to cost.
Another alternative is the "Robby The Robot" style spot cooling/ducted portable units. I've used these in mobile applications, emergency deployments, and data closets -- they work well, while not as efficient as their wall/window mounted counterparts. Since these units actually sit inside the room, with hot air exhausted through a hose outside (through a vent, door, or window for example) there is little risk of condensation freezing during winter months. Your condensation bucket will have to be manually removed occasionally (such as in high-humidity environments) or you can plumb the unit to drain outside. These are fairly inexpensive and frequently used for small spaces.
When purchasing a new cooling unit, you may want to measure your heat load to calculate the size of air handling unit you will need, and to optimize power usage, as over or under powered cooling units use more power than an appropriately sized unit due to the amount of switching on and off and run times.
Whether you have a big server room or a little one, cooling is just as important. Small rooms tend to have their own issues such as ventilation and air circulation with little space for trapped heat to go (up or otherwise!) For a little more cash, you can get a variable speed unit which could help to circulate the air while not cooling, and cool at a lower volume for minor temperature changes thus distributing the heat more evenly around the room; this is especially important when considering small server rooms.
If you have any questions about my suggestions, feel free to shoot me an email.
Links:
The reason your AC does not work below 50 outside is a simple lockout against the Outside Air Temp. This is industry standard. Modify this lockout and you can save yourself a lot of money.
I help design these systems for a living, feel free to contact me if you have further questions.
Before spending any capital on new AC units or replacement;
•Sizing the load. Have you calculated or measured the requirements for the room? Rack level calculations? Or, specific metering?
•What is in the room that does not absolutely need to be in the room? De-clutter?
•When sizing a load many IT leaders focus on the servers only. Do not discount the impact on the environment from other equipment. For example working on a server room with a client in NYC we found that the load calculations did not include the other equipment in the small server room which represented a BTU/hr of 11,600.
