By Tom Billy
The rise in temperatures can have a significant impact on the equipment in your server room. This equipment must be kept cool for them to remain in good working condition. Otherwise, if your servers go down, this could have a huge effect on the operations of your business.
We’ll be discussing the importance of keeping a server room cool, providing you with top tips to do so.
Why does the temperature need to be monitored?
Maintaining the correct temperature in a server room is critical when it comes to keeping your IT equipment from failing. Computer hardware is specifically designed to operate in certain temperatures and humidity levels, so exceeding these can cause serious damage.
It’s said that the ideal temperature for servers to run efficiently is between 19-21°C and humidity levels should be between 40-60%. Failure to do so can cause your equipment to degrade quickly. Plus, high temperatures can increase the risk of fire in your server room.
Having the right server rack is key
You can keep your equipment cool by mounting them on server racks. These allow cool air to flow through the rack to keep your components at the appropriate temperature.
However, having a fully-enclosed server rack will deliver the opposite. Whilst you might want to hide away cables and keep everything looking neat and tidy, enclosed server racks can increase the temperature that surrounds your equipment, making them even warmer on a hot day.
That’s why you must always ensure your server rack is designed to maintain regular airflow to ensure your components stay cool.
Air conditioners are a great option
Air conditioning fans can help to regulate the temperature in your server room and cool down your equipment. They are typically easy to install and provide cool and dehumidified airstreams, bringing clean air from the outside in.
As well as this, they are energy efficient, helping to minimise your business’ energy usage, utility costs and carbon footprint. Plus, they are used to improve overall air quality using filters to purify the atmosphere.
For a room that will likely overheat due to the number of electronics stored inside it, air conditioning is a great investment for your server room, helping you protect critical business equipment.
Keep the room clear
To help maintain optimum temperature, it’s important to ensure your server room is kept clear of any unnecessary equipment. The presence of additional factors will affect the dispersion of the air conditioning, when it’s crucial for essential equipment to reap the benefits.
Use low-energy lighting
Lighting can release high amounts of heat energy. Ensure to install low-energy light bulbs, such as fluorescent or LED lights, to help keep the server room as cool as possible.
