Precision Cooling 101 – The Basics

Although many of you have been doing this for many years, we felt this blog was a great way to provide a quickie refresher course on the basics of data room cooling needs. This way you can talk to the uninitiated at cocktail parties about what you do for a living. Kidding…but only a little.

First of all, Data Aire computer room systems are designed to control the environment of a particular space including the temperature, humidity and cleanliness of the room:

• In the cooling mode, the system will remove unwanted heat.
• In the dehumidification mode, the system will remove unwanted moisture from the room.
• There is reheat in the system to help control the temperature of the room during the humidification mode – eliminating too low a temperature.
• If the room is too dry, the humidifier will be activated to raise the humidity.
• The system includes air filters designed with large surface areas to remove as much dust and dirt from the room as possible with minimal resistances.

However, to control this many aspects of the room environment, the space must be designed and built to allow the Data Aire system to operate properly. So, what is a properly designed room?

• Firstly, the room must be sealed off from the rest of the building.
• It should have a vapor barrier enclosing the entire space.
• The recommended vapor barrier for the walls and ceiling is a polyurethane sheeting that is at least 6mil. thick.
• Floors need to be sealed with vapor-proof sealant to prevent the migration of moisture into the room.

Now, if the room is pressurized (Data Aire recommends a maximum of 5% outside air) the air needs to be treated for both temperature and humidity. Think of a very humid day (80% to 100% humidity) that is around 50 to 60 degrees outside – most systems used to pressurize most spaces only control the temperature. However, the room can be pressurized using the Data Aire Aire-Side Economizer System. This system will balance the outside air with the return air to maximize the system’s resources for optimal space control. The Data Aire unit will also control the humidity levels through humidification or dehumidification depending upon the need.

Finally, let’s talk about the design of the space containing the system. Data Aire has put countless hours of design and testing behind each individual unit. The room or space in which the system resides should have the same attention to design. The combination of two well thought-out designs will minimize operating costs, require less maintenance and add longevity and reliability to the system.

So how’s that for some scintillating cocktail hour conversation?