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According to IBM, the recommended temperature for a server room is 72° F, with 45% relative humidity.  Servers can tolerate temperatures in a range outside that goal (60° – 90° F), however operating with those optimum conditions in mind keeps you better prepared for unintended heat spikes.

Calculating Heat Load:

The amount of heat a server generates is known as heat gain or heat load. The heat load inside a server room is influenced by 5 different factors:

1. The floor surface area
2. The size, position, and coverings of the windows
3. The number of room occupants
4. The heat generated by equipment
5. The heat generated by lighting

You can pull together a reasonable estimate of your cooling needs by using the following calculations.

Floor Surface Area

Length (m) x Width (m) x 337 = Room area BTUs

Window Size and Position

If there are no windows in your server room, proceed to the next calculation.

For Southern Hemisphere, reverse the formulas.

South facing window length (m) x south facing window height (m) x 870 = south facing window BTUs

North facing window length (m) x north facing window height (m) x 165 = north facing window BTUs

If the windows have no coverings multiply the window BTUs by 1.5

Add the window BTUs together:

South facing window BTUs + North facing window BTUs = Window BTUs

Occupants

Number of occupants x 400 = Occupant BTUs

Equipment

The wattage listed on a piece of equipment is its maximum power output, but it is better to overestimate rather than under estimate.

Add together the wattage for every piece of equipment: servers, routers, etc.

Total wattage for all equipment x 3.5 = Equipment BTUs

Lighting

Add together the wattage for every light fixture.

Lighting wattage X 4.25 = Lighting BTUs

Total Heat Load = room area BTUs + window BTUs + occupant BTUs + Equipment BTUs + lighting BTUs

These calculations can give you a rough guide to your cooling needs.  A cooling audit of your server room will provide you with the most accurate information.

Keeping Your Server Room Cool

Residential AC units generally cannot run 24/7/365 without breaking down, and are not a reliable solution for server room cooling.

Re-designing the layout of your server room to accommodate bulky, built in cooling units is expensive and disrupts the usability of your servers. Strategically placing portable server coolers is an easy way to remove heat exactly where it needs to be removed.

North Slope Chillers Solutions

Portable server coolers from North Slope Chillers have a wide range of cooling capacities.

Contact us to find the right server cooling solution for your needs:

(866) 826-2993 [email protected]

The Food Cooling Process

Some foods are either heat-treated or pre-cooked before storage and transportation. For example, dairy is heat treated during the pasteurization process to kill harmful pathogens. These foods must be cooled down quickly to get past the “danger zone” (between 40° F and 140° F). Cooling food down quickly is critical to keep these harmful pathogens from growing. Industrial food chillers help food and beverages pass through the danger zone quickly.

Types of Bacteria Growth

According to the USDA there are 2 main types of bacterial growth in perishable food products: pathogenic bacteria and spoilage bacteria.

Pathogenic Bacteria

Pathogenic bacteria grows rapidly in the “danger zone” between 40°F – 140°F. This type of bacterial growth is hard to detect because it does not generally affect taste, smell, or appearance.

Spoilage Bacteria

Spoilage bacteria grows slowly in the refrigeration zone and gradually affects the smell, appearance, and taste of food. Refrigeration greatly slows this growth but cannot stop it entirely, which is why refrigerated foods still have expiration dates.

Importance of Refrigeration

Storing perishable food below 40° F slows down bacteria growth and extends food’s shelf life. Storing and transporting foods at the correct temperatures does more than just slowing the growth of harmful pathogens.  Color, texture, viscosity, and flavors are also preserved when foods are stored at their correct textures.

Different Food Groups Have Different Needs

Every food group has different temperature storage and shipping needs. There is no 1 temperature fits all approach to food storage.

About 40% of food products rely upon refrigeration in a well-maintained cold chain through the production, packing, storage, and transportation process. The other 60% need to be stored at either freezer temperatures or at room temperature to preserve their freshness.

Organizing and storing food and beverages according to temperature zones saves energy and keeps the cold where it is most needed.  Portable food chillers provide the flexibility and reliability needed to preserve those temperature zones and give you peace of mind.

Contact us to find the right food chilling solution for your needs:

(866) 826-2993 [email protected]