Hot days can be uncomfortable. People might complain that ‘you can fry eggs on the sidewalk’. Temperatures inside a parked car can reach incredible temperatures when the weather is very warm, and the hood can be too hot to touch. If you’re lucky, you can head indoors and enjoy an air-conditioned environment. Businesses should be attentive to indoor temperatures that are comfortable to work in, but you should also think about keeping your servers cool.
Heat and Hardware Don’t Mix
Just because your office air conditioning is working well enough for you and your staff from sweating doesn’t mean that your servers are safe. Your AC might not be good enough for the job. If it’s on full blast and people are still feeling the heat then there’s a strong chance your hardware might be suffering.
The reason for this is that servers generate substantial amounts of heat. The more you have in your server room, the hotter they will get, so you need to provide extra cooling if you have several, or if you add a server to your existing array. Overheating can be fatal for servers. It can cause data loss and even damage the physical hardware itself. This leads to downtime that can be a serious setback for any company.
Use Extra AC for Server Protection
To avoid the potential threat that boiling hot summer days pose to your business operations, you’ll need to take precautions. Consider extra AC, instead of relying on the standard AC that’s designed to keep people cool, not sensitive equipment. A simple and cost-effective way to do this is to make use of a portable cooling unit. All you need to do is position it where it’s needed and plug it in.
If you’re relying on the standard building air conditioning, you might have to turn it up to the max to keep your servers cool. Your staff might even find it’s too cool, and you’ll also be spending money on energy bills unnecessarily. With a portable cooling unit you can ensure variable temperatures that match the different needs of your employees and your hardware.
A portable cooling unit has another benefit that will save your business money. Unless you run a business where there are staff on the premises 24/7, you won’t need to run the aircon at night. It makes no sense to cool the whole building just to keep your servers at the appropriate temperature. The money you can save will quickly offset the financial outlay to acquire a portable cooling unit and over time the savings can be significant.
How significant might that be? Here’s what the VP of Atlas Sales and Rentals said in an interview with Processor magazine: ‘A portable air conditioning unit used in a permanent server room typically costs only 20 to 30% as much as a non-portable system of similar capacity, while still performing the required function’. That clearly adds up to a substantial reduction of your energy bill.
You can beat the summer heat, keep your staff happy and ensure that you’re providing the right conditions for your servers to operate safely. It makes sense to use all the tools you can to be cool. Quikteks can assist you with streamlining and the latest business technology solutions. When the temperature goes up, your costs won’t jump too, though your profits probably will! If you want to put downtime on ice then call Quikteks today at (973) 882-4644.