The Importance of Server Room Temperature Control

The Importance of Server Room Temperature Control

If you’ve ever been in the server room or networking closet at your business, you know it can be hot. Computer equipment generates heat, but for stability and productivity, servers must keep internal components cool. Climate control is crucial in maintaining the infrastructure of your system. The optimal temperature for your server room or networking closet is 68 to 71 degrees Fahrenheit, which often means an investment in specialized cooling equipment and environmental control.

Why a Consistently Cool Server Room is Important

The truth is an overly warm server room weakens the components – hard drive, CPU, motherboard, etc. – of your equipment, causing them to fail prematurely. The heat causes stress to the system, limits working capacity, and can result in server failure. Heat affects server room components negatively reducing productivity with decreased response times, loss of stability, write errors, and data losses.

If equipment failure results due to excess heat, your business will suffer downtime and need to replace damaged equipment, recover data, hire HVAC and IT technicians to get your server room back in operation. In the process, productivity will suffer, as will the bottom line due to the associated costs.

Keeping your Server Room Cool

In your server room, your servers generate heat, which means you need to ensure proper airflow, directing heat away from the servers. Adequate airflow can reduce the overall cooling needed in your space and save you money. In addition, your server room or networking closet should be a dedicated space, not used as a workstation or storage area. Keeping the door closed will help maintain stable temperatures as well as the safety and security of your equipment.

Keep in mind that while 68° to 71° Fahrenheit is considered optimum for servers and computing equipment, you also have to consider energy consumption and efficiency when determining the ideal temperature for your space. Striking a balance between server room temperature, electricity costs, and environmental concerns is crucial. In fact, while your servers will operate effectively as low as 50° or as high as 80°, the best approach is finding the ideal temperature somewhere between the warmest temperature which still allows for optimal server capacity.

Determining Your Server Room Cooling Needs

Whether your server room is large or small, within its walls are stored massive amounts of sensitive data and applications crucial to your operation. The data processing and storage requires energy, which means heat and potential damage to equipment and subsequent loss of data. As mentioned, some server rooms needs lower temperatures than others, which equates to additional cooling power. What determines the optimal temperature for your server room? The size is one determining factor. For instance, if your room is packed with numerous servers inside, the heating potential is high but if you have a larger room with the same amount of servers spread out, there will be less heat. The number of servers is also a factor as more servers mean more heat and a great level of cooling. Airflow is also a factor in temperature control, the greater the airflow the lower the temperature.

Central AC and the Server Room

In most cases, your facilities central air conditioning system, doesn’t have the power to keep your server room at the needed temperature level. This challenge can be met with portable air conditioning units placed in your server room. Portable spot coolers, cooling towers, air handlers, an AC units can offer the ideal solution for your server rooms, large or small.

Call on Cooling Power Corp to Maintain Your Server Room Temperature

Are you ready to improve the environment in your server room or networking closet? Call on the team at Cooling Power Corp to deliver the cooling solutions you need. Cooling Power’s trained technicians are standing by, ready to guide you – from size to specs, delivery to installation, and support. Call today.