Air Quality in Data Centers: People vs. the Machines
Chris Muller
Chris Muller Consulting
When one hears the phrase “indoor air quality” or IAQ, most associate this with the health, well-being, and comfort of humans in an occupiable space. However, in mission critical facilities such as data centers, IAQ is being scrutinized less for the human occupants and more for the “health” of the critical informational technology (IT) and datacom equipment.
Regulatory changes in place since 2006 resulted in much higher failure rates for IT and datacom equipment in facilities located in regions with high air pollution levels. The use of outdoor air for free cooling to reduce energy costs has reached the mainstream of data center design and for many companies it is now the standard design approach for all new facilities. This coupled with an increase in the maximum allowable temperature ranges for IT / datacom equipment means free cooling can and is being used in more locations than ever before. And while this has led to dramatic energy savings and overall lower operational costs, in growing numbers of applications, this has come at the cost of equipment reliability.
Although climatic conditions may allow for the use fee cooling, other factors now must be considered. Primary among these are local and regional air quality. As the use of free cooling expands many locations are experiencing higher equipment failure rates due to the effects of gaseous pollutants, higher temperatures, and fluctuating humidity inside the data center. This doesn’t mean that free cooling should not be considered where feasible; it is just that a few additional steps are required to assure reliable operation of datacom equipment.
This presentation will cover: Air quality standards for datacom environments, updates on ongoing environmental concerns, an overview of free cooling with respect to issues affecting electronic equipment reliability, and free cooling case studies with and without application of contamination assessment, control, and monitoring programs.
