Data Centre Cooling - The Issues (Part 3)

In the first two parts of our Data Centre Cooling - The Issues blog we looked at adopting a cold aisle / hot aisle configuration, sealing cable openings using KoldLok brush strip grommets and the importance of blanking unused cabinet space with blanking panels.

Today we'll look at a product designed to eliminate isolated hot spots. Even if your data centre is correctly laid out, and your cooling optimised, you may still find that specific racks may still be suffering from hot spots. These hot spots can sometimes be caused by insufficient cold air coming from the floor grill. This can be caused by under floor obstructions such as cable trays, pipe work etc blocking the airflow. To rectify these EDP Europe offers the HotSpotr™.

HotSpotr™ is a family of powered airflow improvement products that move chilled Data Centre air to precisely where it is needed most, and remove heated exhaust air directly back to your computer room air conditioners (CRACs). Top-of-the-line HotSpotr™ models are thermostatically controlled by the included temperature sensors; less expensive models are operator controlled to run as and when required.

Proper airflow distribution is the key to providing cooling to ever higher density server racks. Most Data Centres have 2-3 times more cooling capacity than they need for their server load, according to the Uptime Institute, but failure to deliver enough cooling air to rack intakes causes recirculation of hot air and overheating of servers. Under floor obstructions such as pipes, cabling, cable trays etc. can cause low static pressure and reduced flow from some perforated tiles and grates. Racks placed too close or too far away from CRAC units also face issues with low and even negative static pressure. The result is many data centres are overcooled just to manage a few hot spots.

HotSpotr™ underfloor air mover delivers cold air to server racks. The HT-510 consists of a redundant matrix of high performance DC fans that are controlled by an intelligent thermostatic controller and delivers cooling air where and when it is needed, and in the right amount. Correct distribution of cooled air will save on energy costs and reduce carbon footprint as CRAC units will work less hard but more efficiently.

HT-510 Features:

• Thermostat maintains selectable temperatures
• Supports 10-12Kw racks
• Mounts directly to popular grates
• Adaptors for all 24" and 600mm floor and tile types
• VFD control of fan speed
• EPO option
• Certified to IEC-60950-1
• Can be installed in 30 minutes or less with no downtime involved
• Measurable results within minutes
• Operates in two modes Stand Alone or in networked "Room Scale Intelligent Cooling" mode where several tiles can be networked to a central controller to manage the entire room.

To find out more please visit www.edpeurope.com or e-mail us on sales@edpeurope.com. Next time we will look at another cooling solution Cold Aisle Containment.

Data Centre Cooling - The Issues (Part 2)

The Importance of Blanking Panels

In the first part of our Data Centre Cooling - The Issues blog, we looked at adopting a hot aisle / cold aisle configuration and sealing floor and cable openings using KoldLok grommets. Today we are going to explore the importance of blanking panels and the part they play in improving airflow management within the Data Centre environment.

Air-intake temperature is a known significant factor in the reliability of IT equipment, with raised intake temperatures leading to equipment failure and expensive downtime. A major cause for this rise in temperature is hot exhaust air recirculating from the back of the server rack, and finding its way to the intakes at the front through open, unused rack space.

Upsite Technologies, Inc commissioned an independent, third party organisation - Innovative Research, Inc - to perform a study using two-dimensional, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling. The results proved that not only did the use of blanking panels have an effect on air-intake temperatures, but the type of panel used also had an effect.

The results* showed that:

• The servers in the cabinet without blanking panels drew in 40% of their total required airflow volume from the hot exhaust air originating in the back of the server cabinet.
• Blanking panels with horizontal gaps between adjacent blanking panels, and between blanking panels and IT equipment, reduced the volume of hot exhaust air recirculation to 19%. A 53% improvement over a server cabinet with no blanking panels.
• HotLok blanking panels that have no gaps between them reduced the volume of hot exhaust air recirculation to 0%. A 47% improvement over a server cabinet using blanking panels with a horizontal gap, and a 100% improvement over a server cabinet with no blanking panels.
• Blanking panels with horizontal gaps reduced the average temperature by 20% over the use of no blanking panels.
• More significant, blanking panels with no horizontal gaps reduced the average temperature by 37% over the use of no blanking panels. The average air temperature at the air intake was the same as the conditioned air from the floor grate. All air drawn into the equipment was conditioned air.

* Taken from the white paper, Two-Dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of Blanking Solutions by Lars Storng, P.E., Kailash C. Karki, Ph.D., and Berkeley T. Merchant.

EDP Europe offer three blanking panel solutions EziBlank, HotLok and PlenaFill, for more details on these please visit our website www.edpeurope.com. If you would like to discuss blanking panels further or obtain a copy of the Blanking Panel White Paper commissioned by Upsite Technologies, Inc please e-mail us at sales@edpeurope.com. In the next part of our Data Centre Cooling - The Issues blog we will look at a product designed to eliminate isolated hot spots.

Data Centre Cooling - The Issues (Part 1)

With today's servers generating higher heat loads, keeping the Data Centre cool and operating efficiently has never been more important. Poorly cooled Data Centres often suffer from hot spots, which left unmanaged can result in equipment failure. Higher heat capacities generated by servers require more cooling capacity, but a lot can be done to improve Data Centre cooling before adding additional CRAC units. With A properly cooled Data Centre it will not only work more efficiently, but can also save valuable company funds.

So where to start. The first point of call is to switch to a proper Hot Aisle / Cold Aisle configuration, ensuring that all perforated or vented tiles are positioned in front of the server racks (in the cold aisle). Whilst the back of the racks face each other ensuring that no hot exhaust air is sucked into the air intakes on adjacent cabinets.The next step would be to ensure that all openings in the floor are permanently and effectively sealed to stop the cooled air from escaping (bypass air), doing so increases the under floor static pressure and reduces bypass airflow.

Cable openings should also be sealed with KoldLok raised floor grommets. KoldLok grommets are designed to seal cable openings in raised Data Centre floors. They feature dual layer brushes (except the Mini KoldLok) and filaments that are static dissipative. The KoldLok product range consists of eight specially designed grommets that seal various size openings in the raised floor.
By sealing each cable cut out you will save about 2kW of cooling!

In our next posting we will look at the importance of Blanking Panels. In the meantime if you would like to know more about the ways EDP Europe can help solve your airflow issues please e-mail us or vist our website at www.edpeurope.com.