Server Room Air Conditioning Tip - Cool Servers at Night

Run Air Conditioning When the Building is Empty

Most IT administrators don't pay much attention to how the cooling runs at night. They have the system set at the same temperature as during the day, or maybe even a little higher in an effort to reduce power load. However studies have shown running server room air conditioning at night means less load on the cooling system during the day.

The idea is you pre-cool your server room, bringing the temperature down well below the normal daytime settings. As the day warms up and workers start making demands on the servers, the temperature climbs but the air conditioning system doesn't have to kick in right away. The net result is there is less strain on server room air conditioning during the hottest part of the day.

Night Cooling Saves Money

Many city utility systems, especially in hot climates, charge substantially more for electrical power used during the day. This is an effort to equalize the load, encouraging businesses to cut back during peak hours on their electrical usage, particularly cooling.

By running server room air conditioning at night, your business takes advantage of cheaper night electrical rates. When you cool the server room below the normal thermostat settings, you are "banking" that cheap energy in the form of cooler air. Since the building starts the day off cooler, less energy is needed for cooling during expensive peak hours.

Some construction such as solid brick retains a lot of the daytime heat. Pre-cooling sucks the residual heat out of the building's walls, reducing daytime cooling costs even further.

Portable Air Conditioning Gives You More Control

If your company doesn't own the building, you may not be able to run air conditioning at night. The owner might restrict electrical usage at night or become upset at a tenant who uses power when offices are empty. While it's possible explaining the night cooling principle might help, another solution is to take control by supplementing server room air conditioning with spot coolers.

Portable air conditioners allow you to get cooling when and where you need it. Because they are portable, they can be rolled out at night to pre-cool the building and then stored during the day so they are out of the way. Some businesses install them as permanent enhancements to the building's central AC system.

Cutting back your energy usage helps your company save money, but using energy smarter increases those savings even more. Night cooling lowers your utility costs and, by putting less strain on AC systems during the day, cuts maintenance and repair expenses as well.