A server room air conditioning strategy involves more than just calculating heat generated and cooling needed. A truly comprehensive design includes everything from diagramming heat flow through the room to a dusting schedule. However even well designed plans sometimes omit an important section: what do you do when the server room air conditioning fails?

Disaster Strikes In Minutes

Imagine you are sitting in the server room managing the systems when suddenly the comforting hum of the air conditioners stops. The silence is deafening and it may take you a moment to realize what just happened.

The temperature rises quickly in a server room. Air conditioning carries a staggering amount of heat away and without the airflow, the stagnant air gets hot faster than most people realize. Very quickly, temperature alarms sound and it won’t be long before servers shut down or equipment is damaged.

You don’t have time to dither about, deciding what to do. While the loss of server room air conditioning doesn’t require response time as quick as something like a fire, it still requires rapid and unambiguous decisions.

Backup Portable Air Conditioners

Rolling in spot coolers allows a server administrator to restore cooling to the room as quickly as possible. They give time to troubleshoot and fix the air conditioning without damaging the equipment or shutting down company operations.

Deciding to use portable coolers as emergency server room air conditioning is merely the first step. The administrator needs to know how much cooling is needed to know how many units will be required. Where will these units be placed? They have to be put in certain areas in the room for most efficient cooling but not in places where they will interfere with employee operations. Where will the venting ducts run? You don’t want to add tripping hazards nor do you want to block airflow. Will the hot air be vented out the door or into the ceiling?

These are all decisions that should be made before disaster strikes rather than trying to throw together a plan in an emergency.

Put The Backup System In Place Now

Although portable air conditioning is, well, portable that doesn’t mean it can’t have permanent placement. Some server room air conditioning plans place portable coolers in the server room at all times. These backup air conditioners have their thermostats set a few degrees higher than the main system. This means they don’t run under normal circumstances but kick in immediately once temperatures rise.

The advantage is this backup system is in place when temperatures change for reasons other than server room air conditioning failure. Failure of nearby air conditioning systems put extra load on server room systems. Something as simple as a summer heat wave can strain existing HVAC systems and cause temperatures to soar. Your backup system gives you another layer of protection against disaster.