And when he writes "professional", that might mean someone with more expertise than your average commercial HVAC shop. I've seen it countless times where general contractors do a great job on almost every aspect of the building but fail miserably when it comes to setting aside space for network equipment and remembering to cool that gear in the IMF rooms. Those experiences have put me on the offensive when working with such folk -- you literally have to stake out your ground and remind them of the cooling needs every step along the way. Frank -----Original Message----- From: Ricky Beam [mailto:jfbeam@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, May 01, 2009 11:06 PM To: NANOG Subject: Re: Slightly OT: Calculating HVAC requirements for server rooms On Fri, 01 May 2009 21:32:19 -0400, William Warren <hescominsoon@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> wrote:
Specifically, I am using the guide posted at: http://www.openxtra.co.uk/articles/calculating-heat-load
"Before you decide on an air conditioning unit you should commission an audit from a suitably qualified air conditioning equipment specialist or installer." Translation: Hire a f***ing professional. And that's exactly what you need to do. Qualified HVAC installers (with specific data center experience) will know far more than us "network types" will ever want to know about cooling. They do this for a living, and thus, know all the tiny details and odd edge cases to look for. (like looking above the drop ceiling -- that's what it's called, btw -- and seeing what's up there long before pencil meets paper (not that anyone uses paper anymore.))
You also have to take into account the environment surrounding the data room. At my wife's work The ceiling above is only separated with a false ceiling to the metal roof above but the rest of hte spaces surrounding the room are climate controled. They [had] to significantly upsize to account for the heat load of that ceiling.
Unless you are pulling air through the plenum (that space above the drop ceiling), the air up there shouldn't matter much -- there should be plenum returns up there to begin with venting the air to the surrounding plenum(s) (i.e. the rest of the office, hallway, neighboring office, etc.) However, I've seen more than enough office setups where the "engineers" planning the space completely ignore the plenum. In my current office building the static pressure pushes the bathroom doors open by almost 2". And they placed our server room directly under the building air handlers -- meaning all the air on the 3rd floor eventually passes through the plenum above my servers. (also, the sprinkler system riser room is in there.) Bottom line, again, ask a professional. NANOG is a bunch of network geeks (in theory.) I'd be surprised if there's even one licensed HVAC "geek" on the list. ('tho I'm sure many may *know* an HVAC engineer.) --Ricky