- David Ruede, VP Marketing at Temperature@lert, says:
Techies love acronyms, and IT professionals are masters
of the jargon. Where else would we find such gems as CRAC, PUE, SaaS, DCIM,
VoIP and VPN among the scores if not hundreds of options for the next big idea?
Why do we need these when The Free Dictionary lists 259
phrases alone for the acronym DC? (Link 1) First, we love to speak in shorthand. Time is always too short; things need to be
done quickly. Speaking in Acronym makes us an insider, the elite
few who can feel the bits and petabytes flowing through the veins and arteries
of the interconnected web of the virtual world.
And short of a Vulcan Mind Meld, acronyms save time, although one could
argue that when used in meetings there may be a few who don’t really understand
the meaning and because they don’t want to appear “stupid”, don’t ask.
Many of these terms started off as marketing terms. Why would we need CRAC when AC may be
sufficient? And why is PUE debated daily
as to its true meaning in professional social media sites? Every data center operator, supplier and
professional looks to set themselves or their companies apart from the
competition. I’ll argue this is a good
thing because it makes web searches easier – I don’t have to sort through
hundreds of household air conditioners sold in retail outlets to find what I
need for a data center, server or telecom room.
Recently a new acronym has been making its way into the
jargon. HTA, High Temperature Ambient,
has cropped up in several professional periodicals and online marketing
pieces. The phrase is used to describe
the benefits of reduced energy consumption in data centers and other IT
facilities that operate at what many consider higher than “normal”
temperatures, say 30°C (86°F) for example.
Described in earlier pieces as high ambient temperature or high
temperature in the ambient, the idea of running data centers at higher
temperatures has gained prominence as a way to save electrical energy, a very
costly piece of the data center’s operating budget. Often used with terms like “free cooling” or
“air side economizers”, the idea is that today’s servers have been specified to
run at higher temperatures than those just a few years ago, so operating
equipment at higher temperatures has no detrimental effect.
In April 2012, Intel published a study of the potential
energy savings in green data center maker Gitong’s modular data centers. The Shanghai study showed an annual cost
reduction of almost $33,000 per year, which is significant.
Figures 1a, 1b:
Tables showing before and after HTA results - Source: Intel Link
2
While saving energy is a very desirable goal, data
center, server and telecom room operators are well served to understand the
underlying assumptions behind “turning up the heat and opening up the doors and
windows”. First, all of the equipment in
an IT space comes with manuals, and the manuals specify operating conditions.
Insuring all of the equipment in the ambient is able to run at elevated
temperatures is highly recommended, particularly since older devices or
appliances may be more prone to heat related performance degradation. AHRAE’s TC 9.9 2011 Thermal Guidelines for
temperature and humidity control are a good reference as to where to start when
designing or setting up an HVAC system. (Link
3)
Second, while the HVAC systems in IT spaces are generally
well designed and provide adequate airflow to the equipment, time has a way of
changing things. Profiling the
temperature of the data center to see if any changes in operation or addition
of equipment have created “hot spots” with sufficient resolution to insure each
rack or piece of equipment is operating within specification can be done with
existing equipment by moving temperature sensors to areas not normally
monitored during the temperature mapping process.
Third, changes in temperature can cause changes in
relative humidity. Continuous monitoring
of not only temperature but relative humidity before and after raising the
temperature is recommended to insure both of these critical parameters are
within manufacturer’s specification.
And if IT professionals decide to employ “free cooling”
by figuratively “opening up the doors and windows”, they would be well advised
to check ASHRAE’s TC 9.9 Gaseous and Particulate Contamination Guidelines for
Data Centers and again their supplier manuals for specification compliance. (Link
4)
Figure 2: Ambient Air
Cooling Unit (Link
5)
Much has been written about free cooling; a June 2012
article is a good example. (ref. Link 5)
Cooling may indeed be “free” and many can and do use free cooling
combined with HTA to make significant reductions in their energy bills. As in all good ideas, “first, do no harm” is
a good motto. IT professionals may be
well served to verify and validate the assumptions against best practices as
they apply to their sites before any significant changes in operation are made.
For
information about temperature, humidity, or water leak sensors and other
environmental monitoring products, visit Temperature@lert’s website at http://www.temperaturealert.com/Temperature-Alarm.aspx
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