Condensate Issues on Server Room Air Conditioning In Cold Conditions 2012

Server room air conditioning will run 24 hours a day seven days a week to cool the ambient air. This means that on certain days of the year the outside temperature is colder than the server room. I.e if a server room has a required temperature of 19DegC and the outside air temperature is -2DegC. This can throw up issues with the system if this is not planned into the initial installation. A common problem is that condensate water which is collected from the server room can freeze up in the condensate pipe in gravity drain systems.

The condensate pipe of choice for drain line is 22mm overflow pipe or braided 10mm/12mm which has no insulation properties and when exposed to freezing weather conditions with already chilled water coming off a indoor evaporator coil can freeze in long runs of the braided hose. This causes the indoor unit to leak as the pipe gets more restricted and as the ice builds up in the pipe. I have seen insulation around condensate pipe to inhibit the effects of the cold weather.

 

Cold weather plays havoc with server room air conditioning	Drain lines get blocked in server room air conditioning systems

Key points to think about when getting air conditioning for server rooms

• Use inverter air conditioning as it will save energy in the long run.
• Cheap air conditioning units do not work in cold weather because they do not have a outside fan speed controller (low ambient kit)
• Use a established brand so if a part fails on you Server room air conditioning you are not waiting 8 weeks for a part.
• Sometimes it is worth having two server room air conditioning units because if one fails you still have some cooling.
• To establish the heat load of you servers add up all the power supplies of your servers rack and assume a 40% loss to heat. i.e- If you have 10 servers with 400watt power supply the total watts will be 4000 watts. assuming a 40% loss the heat load will be 1600 watts.
• Work on a average watts per/Msq of 125watts, so if you server room is 5 x 5 meters you will require a base of 3.5kw/12000btu + the heat load.
• Advised manufactures for server room air conditioning Mitsubishi, Daikin, Fujitsu, Sanyo.
• Always use auto-restart units for server room air conditioning units as power failures can shut budget air conditioning down.
• If your server room is temporary (ie short term lease on building) or has building restrictions then portable air conditioning maybe your only option.
• If using portable air conditioning for your server room then make sure it recycles the water for better cooling performance of that it has a integral condensate pump.
• Use a established business who will not be going out of business for your server room air conditioning installation as the warranty of the air conditioning is with the supplier not the manufacturer.

We offer a complete service to IT Managers, Building Managers and Server Room / Computer / COMM'S room managers. Call us for a comprehensive quotation on varied air conditioning manufactures to suit any budget on new installations. We have worked with many Blue-chip organisations in helping them develop their server room air conditioning.

E-mail: [email protected]