This post was contributed by Matt Breck

Are you receiving high-energy bills from your power company?

There are a few simple steps you can take in your data center cabinets that will increase efficiency and lower those high energy bills.  The main idea is to direct the cold air from your CRAC (Computer Room Air Conditioner) unit to the front of the server cabinets and exhaust the hot air up and back to the unit for cooling.

In the applications where air flow direction is needed, there are a few simple options that will help.

Brush grommet kits are designed for easy installation to the sides of your cabinet rails.  The use of brush grommets allows for cabling to pass through the brushes but still directs the air flow to the servers.

Do you have open spaces between the rails?  Fill those open spaces with filler panels that are available in a wide variety of sizes.  Filler panels mount to the rails of your cabinet and are an inexpensive way to help direct the air flow where it is needed.  If you are not looking to completely close that space, there is a hybrid item that acts as both a brush grommet and filler panel.

Cable management can be a simple and very effective way to increase airflow within the cabinet.  Organize your cable mess and all the air to flow freely!

Take these three simple steps to increase airflow and begin seeing lower energy bills.

Recently I discussed the issues relating having Cisco 6500 series equipment in a Hot / Cold Isle cooling configuration in data center.

How about a solution to that problem that is very reasonably priced?

The Problem:

What is the best way to cool Side to Side air flow equipment (like the Cisco®6500/9500 Series MDS) installed in a cabinet in a Hot Aisle/Cold Aisle Data Center?

One Solution:

Great Lakes’ Side Airflow Plenum Kit (SAFPL) utilizes brush grommet as air-dams along the front left & right rails. One vertical dam installs along the right rear to prevent recirculation of any hot air. Two verticals are installed on the top & bottom of the right side of the equipment, creating an intake channel on the right side to draw air directly from the cold aisle. The left vertical dam seals the left side of the cabinet, directing exhaust air toward the hot aisle, protecting against recirculation.

Do you have an idea relating to cooling issues in your data center? Let us know

Search Data Center defines Hot/cold aisle (or hot aisle/cold aisle) as a method of cooling servers in data centers in which every aisle between rows of racks is bounded with exclusively hot-air outlets or exclusively cool-air intakes. Air is brought into the cool aisles from underneath and exhausted from the hot aisles overhead.

This produces constant air circulation through the racks, provided there are no “holes” through which cool air can leak without encountering hardware.

In a hot/cold aisle configuration, the hot aisles are always at a much higher temperature than the cool aisles. Equipment racks are arranged in parallel rows. Air flows generally upward throughout the center with a constant “breeze” through each row.

For optimum design, internal fans that bring air into or exhaust it out of individual units should be disabled or configured to act with, not against, the overall pattern of air flow in the center.

Everyone knows component makers continue to develop more energy-efficient processors, power supplies, and other components that allow servers to consume less power and to run cooler. Yet server thermal problems are still not going away anytime soon.

Server downtime, data loss, and destroyed components due to overheating are potential nightmares that IT admins will continue to face.

Read More in this article published in the Processor.