Sweating ban in the server room
The data analysts noticed irregularities in the measurement data during the early days of the measurement campaign. The fluctuations in temperature and light intensity were very unusual. Especially hot days were more affected than a "summer average day". It was obvious: the air conditioner for the server room seemed to be playing crazy! Especially at hot outside temperatures, the device could not cool the room as desired...
Six measured values simultaneously
High temperatures will significantly harm servers for a long time. Replacing damaged server infrastructures is very costly.
In addition to temperature, the multisensor system from orbit Sensorfusion also measures other environmental parameters such as humidity, air pressure, CO2, volatile organic substances (VOC) and light intensity. These parameters were measured and evaluated for the report. In the company’s own server room, which will be discussed below, the room temperature is regulated by air conditioning.
Conditions in the server room must be right
In the server room, we recorded the mentioned environmental parameters for two months. The aim was to investigate the environmental influences around the server system and to find out whether the energy consumed is also having an effect.
The sensor nodes had to be mounted in several places. Only in this way could we get a good overview of the conditions in the server room. Windows, doors and air conditioning influenced the accuracy of the measurements.
I see what you do not see
As the acquisition costs for server cabinets with integrated sensor technology are exploding, sensor technology has been retrofitted throughout the room. The customer was enthusiastic and later called it a "retro-fitting solution" for the complete server room.
In 5 minutes, the sensor nodes (SK) were installed:
- Two SCs in the server cabinet
- An SK in the windowsill
- A SK over the door
- An SK at the air conditioning control box
Sauna conditions in the server room
Our data analysts were first and took the sensor values. After the cooling was questioned, the customer decided to include the sensitive external unit of the air conditioning in the measurements.
The time series data were again evaluated graphically and the measurement data was extended with local weather data.
In the final evaluation it became clear that the sun could shine unhindered on the external unit of the air conditioning system. The heat of the aggregate could not be delivered enough and the heat accumulated in the server room.
Following the project, the air conditioning system was replanned and the external unit was converted. Thus, much better conditions for the server room could be created and our customer could save a lot of energy.
