Many data centers today have inappropriate temperature and relative humidity environments due to being operated inefficiently and ineffectively. This paper will highlight the worst case practices found in many data centers, their impact on the operation and environment of the facility, and how many of these situations can be quickly and inexpensively corrected.

A few of the areas of greatest concerns include the mismatch of IT expectations and facilities (primarily cooling) capability, which leads to greater exposures of catastrophic failures in infrastructure equipment. Mismatched electrical and cooling infrastructure lead to a waste of investment, as well as, exposure of catastrophic failures of infrastructure equipment. Inappropriate equipment layout and no master plan leads to inefficient utilization of floor space and cooling capacity. Failure to measure and monitor key parameters leads to uncontrolled application of cooling resources. Bypass airflow is a large contributor to inefficient use of cooling capacity.

Units: I-P