Benefits of Investing in a Precision Cooling System for Small IT Applications
Every IT system, whether it’s in a data center, server room, or IT closet, needs to be kept cool and dry if it’s going to operate effectively. Smaller locations often struggle to maintain the perfect environment for their IT equipment because they lack physical space as well as the proper power and cooling systems. When powerful IT equipment is trapped in a small, poorly ventilated space, heat can quickly raise the temperature to unsafe levels that reduce performance and shorten equipment life. Comfort cooling systems can’t keep up with this generated heat, which is why it’s important to consider precision cooling solutions. Continue reading to learn how precision cooling systems can benefit your IT environment and keep your critical equipment operating safely.
Improved Temperature Control
According to Vertiv, comfort cooling systems use 60% of their energy to lower temperatures and the other 40% to remove humidity. While this makes sense when maintaining an ideal environment for people, this cooling system wastes energy in IT environments. IT equipment produces a large amount of dry heat, so there isn’t as much need to lower humidity in its location. As a result, you would need a very large comfort cooling unit to keep your IT equipment cool, but this would ultimately be more expensive and use even more energy. Instead, Vertiv recommends using a precision cooling system, which uses 90% of its energy to reduce temperature and 10% to remove humidity. This helps optimize your operations to ensure your equipment stays cool without wasting resources.
Precision Humidity Control
While precision cooling systems may regulate temperature more than humidity, they still work to keep moisture away from your critical IT equipment. If humidity in a computer room gets too high, it may cause condensation in the devices. If humidity gets too low, static electricity can fry your components and even alter data. Precision cooling systems have the accuracy to meet the ideal humidity levels of between 45% and 50%. A comfort cooling system doesn’t have the ability to be this accurate. When it’s cooling, it’s also dehumidifying, but that’s incidental. Moreover, it’s incapable of adding humidity during the winter season when the air dries out. If even one piece of equipment fries due to lack of humidity, you risk slowing down your operations, damage to your other equipment, and unexpected downtime, all of which can be very expensive.
24/7 Operation
Critical IT equipment needs to always be cool and dry, no matter what the outside temperature is. Comfort cooling systems aren’t designed to do this. Most of these systems only turn on automatically once outside temperatures have reached at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Regardless of how cold it is outside, your IT space needs a reliable cooling system to combat the heat each device produces. Precision cooling systems operate 24/7, 365 days a year. Strategically placed temperature sensors alert these systems when equipment is getting too warm so their fans can switch on even if it’s cold outside.
Cost Savings
Precision cooling systems will cost more upfront than comfort cooling solutions, but that is because they are built to run 24/7 and maintain ideal indoor temperatures longer than commercial units. By keeping all your IT equipment cool, precision cooling systems prevent your devices from overheating and being permanently damaged. Instead of having to pay for costly repairs or brand-new devices, you can rest easily knowing your equipment is in its ideal environment and will last much longer. This also reduces the risk of unexpected downtime since your equipment will be in a stable environment that promotes continuous operation.
Built in Redundancy
If one of your components fails or a power outage occurs, you need to ensure that your facility can continue running. This requires more than a UPS and backup generator, though those are vital to keeping equipment on. Your systems need to stay cool too to prevent further damage, which is why precision cooling systems come with built-in redundancy features. Incorporating multiple backup systems and fail-safe mechanisms helps ensure your precision cooling solution can continue working even if a piece of it fails. This is vital to prevent downtime and maintain the ideal environment for the rest of your IT space. Just because one device isn’t working properly doesn’t mean your entire facility has to suffer.
Ready to Fine Your Perfect Precision Cooling System?
As your IT infrastructure changes, your cooling system will have to evolve to keep up. Comfort cooling systems can’t handle your IT operations for very long, which is why you need to invest in a precision cooling solution instead. However, with so many precision cooling systems available, it can be difficult to know which one is right for your location. Contact us today to speak to one of our experts and learn which cooling system will best fit your needs.