IT Equipment Cooling: Why your HVAC system is a poor climate control unit

Managers working in small and mid-sized businesses often find themselves searching their buildings for unused space to house the company’s IT enclosures. Mailrooms, empty offices, janitors’ closets… all have been repurposed into data closets holding one to a few racks.
This approach may be the right choice in terms of square footage needed, but when it comes to proper climate conditions for sensitive IT equipment, it could not be more wrong! At best, these spaces are cooled using only the building’s AC system.
At worst? An open window.
A building’s existing air conditioning system (or combined heat and air conditioning system) is designed to create comfortable environments for employees – the reason they are sometimes referred to as “comfort systems.” When IT racks need to be placed somewhere on site, it’s thought that “any old room” will do because AC ductwork usually terminates in these spaces. However, the reality is that even if you were to add ducts to supplement the building’s AC, relying on a system designed for humans is not a good solution for IT equipment.
Server rooms need more targeted cooling to keep the temperature within a specific range and prevent the servers from overheating. According to ASHRAE (the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers), the appropriate temperature range for server rooms is between 64.4 and 80.6 Fahrenheit (18 to 27 Celsius). This requires a discrete cooling solution capable of monitoring and managing the temperature of both the equipment and the room. The same cooling system must also be capable of regulating humidity within the precise margins required by sensitive equipment.
Finally, building HVAC will not provide sufficient airflow volume for heat removal from installed appliances; the CFM requirements for comfort cooling are significantly lower than airflow required to remove heat from the IT devices.
Five Enclosure Climate Control Challenges
Still think your building AC is up to the task? Here are some of the hidden risks you will be vulnerable to:

• Contaminants. A repurposed space can be exposed to airborne dust, gasses and moisture that seep into the room and compromise the quality of the air and the performance of the equipment; these may not be adequately removed from the room using only the existing AC.
• Reliability/redundancy. Even a short interruption in power supply to computer equipment can lead to loss of data, and the same is true for interruptions in cooling. Most buildings do not have redundant cooling in place and often an AC system breakdown can last hours – a costly risk for IT equipment.
• Comfort systems cycle on and off. The temperature in the closet will decrease when the cooling system is on and increase when it is off, resulting in temperature swings throughout the day that can stress the equipment more than a consistent higher temperature.

Moreover, the issue is not only related to daily temperature swings, but more sustained periods that put the equipment outside the zone. Comfort cooling systems are often programmed for higher temperature set points on weeknights and weekends to conserve energy.
The average temperature within a server closet will generally increase by the amount the temperature set point is increased.

• Combined heating and cooling HVAC systems deliver heat in winter. The same ductwork that supplies cool air to the IT closet in warmer months will deliver heated air in colder months. This almost guarantees overheating of the equipment and increases the risk of equipment failure.
• Inability to scale. Every kilowatt of power used by the IT equipment creates a kilowatt of heat that must be removed. If you were to add an additional rack and more equipment, the existing HVAC system would be even less capable of maintaining the ideal temperature.

Solutions for Your Climate Control Unit Needs
So, what is an ideal option for supporting mid-size installations and 10-30kW thermal loads in a small space? A liquid cooling solution is one of the most effective options for data closets, IT rooms and other confined spaces that would otherwise rely on a building’s HVAC system. One of the best is Rittal’s LCP DX 20kW – an enclosure cooling solution adaptable to a variety of applications and locations.
The LCP DX provides 20kW of cooling capacity and is available in closed loop Rack and open loop Inline options. The closed loop configuration maintains rack temperatures completely independent of room conditions; the open loop option maintains a constant room temperature, cooling the rack equipment as well as other equipment that may be in the room.
You can learn more about the 20KW LCP rack and inline DX by clicking here.
The LCP DX 20kW is a server rack cooling solution with the features that make it ideal for repurposed spaces – and limited staff:

• A small footprint;
• Easy to maintain (tool-less fan replacement; easy access electrical connections);
• Precise climate control (set point temperature is maintained as heat loads vary);
• Ongoing monitoring (remote notification); and
• Variable capacity (follow heat load variations from 5 to 20kW).

Learn more about your data centre cooling options by reading Rittal’s white paper, “Data Center Cooling: 4 Effective Types of Liquid Cooling.” In it, you will find valuable information about why liquid cooling is becoming the go-to choice for data centres of all sizes, and four of the best options for different scenarios.
About the author: Herb Villa is senior applications engineer at Rittal Corporation. He is experienced in data centre design and deployment, power distribution and facility climate control. He has authored numerous articles as well as several white papers on key technical aspects of data centre design considerations and deployments with a focus on cooling solutions for high density installations. For more information, please contact IT@rittal.ca or visit www.rittal.ca/climatecontrol