A recent feature article in AIRAH’s Ecolibrium Magazine explores changes in best practice for HVAC design in data centres as IT equipment becomes more robust and tolerant to higher operating temperatures and humidity.

A.G. Coombs manager of data centres and telecommunication facilities, Mark Toner, was one of a panel of industry leaders that participated in the discussion covering a wide range of issues including:

Ecolibrium: Are we seeing a new paradigm in best practice emerge?

Mark Toner: From what we see, there is a definite trend to scalable and modular power/cooling systems, especially in the commercial sector where facilities are built out in stages to best align capital expenditure to client demand. Free cooling is incorporated in all new commercial data centre builds, which is not surprising given cooling energy costs have a big impact on the operator’s cost base and overall market competitiveness.

Ecolibrium: What are some of the key elements that make best-practice design?

Mark Toner: Hot and cold aisle layout combined with containment systems is now well understood and practised. Overlay this with a free- cooling architecture and the ability for supplemental cooling to accommodate any high-density technology racks, and you’re well placed to provide a flexible, energy-efficient environment. In these critical facilities, all building services need a high level of coordination and integration. BIM (building information modelling) is best practice for achieving this during the design and construct phase.

Read the full Ecolibrium feature article, “Cooling the cloud”, on the AIRAH website.