Cooling Management

  1. Can We Claim Victory over Data Center Energy Efficiency?

    As the number of data centers continues to increase in the United States, they are becoming much more energy efficient. A new report from the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has found that electricity consumption by data centers nationwide, after rising rapidly for more than a decade, started to plateau in 2010 and has remained steady...
  2. Don't believe everything you see or read

    I was reading some literature that was touting the use of an overhead power distribution system. It made its case for overhead cabling mostly by pointing out the potential risks related to restriction and obstruction of airflow as the result of leaving abandoned cables under floor and not having an organized cabling system. And then to drive their point home...
  3. Renewable Energy - Data Centers Doing Their Part

    A recent article in Clean Technica Renewables Could Generate 48% of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Industry's Power Supply by 2020, shares some interesting statistics compiled by the EPA's Green Power Partners program. Based on the reports small sample size, the percentage of renewable energy used to power tech and telecom (data centers) is over 30%. That's a pretty big...
  4. KEN'S KORNER - Selecting a Hosting Data Center

    More and more businesses, large and small, are beginning to reach a point where their data needs have outstripped their in-house computing capabilities. Instead of spending the capital or devoting resources to upgrade their infrastructure, they are seriously considering contracting with a retail data center to host their data. Your concerns when outsourcing data hosting are the same as when...
  5. KEN'S KORNER - Taking Advantage of Free Cooling

    First off free cooling isn't free it would better described as reduced cooling. My data centers were located in Minnesota so we were able to take advantage of the outside temperatures for a good part of the year. Two of our sites utilized CRAC units with compressors to cool raised floor space. We set our wet cooling towers to make...
  6. It sure sounds impressive, but upon closer review...

    One of our AirGuard customers pointed out that a company he'd never heard of was advertising their version of a data center cable floor seal. I visited their website, and found them promoting rubberized vinyl foam that resembled a rough textured anti-fatigue mat that is glued over cable openings. You have to cut holes or slits in the rubber with...
  7. KEN'S KORNER - Data Center Environmental Monitoring

    Selecting a Monitoring System Monitoring can range from electrical power equipment supporting critical load such as UPS systems, diesel generators, PDU/RPP’s down to individual branch circuits within power panels. When evaluating a monitoring system consider what type of graphics are desired and available.  Pictorial diagrams displaying individual monitored components are helpful, especially ones that change color or light up in...
  8. AirGuard Split Extreme, Newest Product in Award Winning Line of Data Center Floor Grommets

    PDU Cables™ introduces the new AirGuard® Split Extreme cable seal for sealing power and data cables through cable cutouts in raised floors of data centers and mission critical facilities. MINNETONKA – November 16, 2015 - PDU Cables, a division of Engineered Products Company, the industry leading manufacturer and supplier of power-distribution cable assemblies in North America since 1981, has expanded...
  9. KEN'S KORNER - Cooling Equipment Maintenance Checklist

    Proper maintenance of cooling equipment will not only extend their life but also cut operating costs in the data center.  Remember cooling cost typically account for 40% of a data centers electrical expenses. Dirty or poorly maintained cooling equipment will not only decrease your cooling efficiency, contributing to lost capacity, but it also runs the risk of failure leading to...
  10. KEN'S KORNER - Cooling Effectiveness

      Maximizing Data Center Cooling Efficiency An efficient cooling system minimizes the energy needed to generate cool air used to direct heat away from sensitive computer equipment.  The process of optimizing airflow management involves proper placement of Computer Room Air Conditioners (CRAC), hot and cold air delivery and returns, intelligent rack configurations and cable management. Cable Management Each data center...

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