Cooling Strategies and Panelboards for Data Centers
It is a constant battle for data center and IT managers. How do you keep data center equipment cool and functioning properly? There are several different strategies you can take to keep your data center equipment cool and how to implement panelboards for data centers properly for safe computing.
No cooling strategy is ever perfect. This is especially true in today’s day-to-day ever-changing and complex data center management. Some design challenges and trends today include:
- Consolidation of data centers so many physical locations pull data from one data center
- Virtualization
- High-density computing
- Pressures to supply more data storage
- Attempts to create a more “green environment” than traditional power options offer
These are just some of the challenges that make up data center design and have a direct affect on determining the best cooling options for a data center. All these options for cooling and power management must work properly with the installed panelboards for data centers in order to keep power running safely.
Under-Floor Cooling and panelboards for Data Centers
Under-floor cooling has been considered the industry standard since the dawn of data centers. It makes sense in a variety of different applications. A raised floor keeps air flowing under equipment; it provides a location to house the miles of cabling so data center staff stays safe and avoid tripping; and it raises expensive equipment up off the main floor in case of water damage or flooding. The panelboards for data centers are located on the raised floor in order to reduce potential voltage drops as well as providing easy access to the panelboard, if needed.
A New Cooling Concept: Overhead Cooling Systems
An emerging trend in modern data center design is to combine the traditional under-floor cooling systems with overhead track busway cooling systems. This new overhead cooling system allows data center employees to quickly relocate plug-in units as needed. It is a smart idea to implement flexible busway systems so data center staff can have quick access to all areas in the data center so they can create power drops anywhere they see fit.
These new overhead busway systems are modular in design and consist of electrified copper conductor bars with its housing. Circuits and plug-in units can be added or removed through a turn-n-lock insertion system so system adjustments can be made without shutting down power. This is a huge advantage for data center staff, as avoiding a power shut down is always a prime concern.
Combining an under-floor cooling system along with a modular overhead track busway cooling system is a great way to address multiple issues in modern data center design. It can create the best possible scenario for keeping important data center equipment cool, while still remaining modular to allow for on the fly design changes. This is ultimately the best way to develop a cohesive cooling plan.
