More efficient cooling strategies can help to moderate the costs incurred as a result of ever-increasing heat loads in data centres. A traditional server room set-up, where hot and cold air mix, can be extremely inefficient. Cold aisle containment solutions, based on the complete separation of cold and hot airflows, can offer significant energy and cost savings.

Complete separation of cold and hot airflows
Cold aisle containment solutions separate hot and cold airflows by enclosing the roof section between opposing cabinets on the cold aisle with safety glass panels. Both ends of the cold aisle are sealed off using sliding doors to contain the air. In addition, cabinets are fitted with side skirts and blanking panels between the equipment - the only route out for the air is through the equipment.

Improved server reliability
The result is a nearly constant temperature between the bottom and top of the rack, enabling the deployment of servers at any position within the rack. In traditional set ups 75% of server failures occur in the top third of racks due to increased temperatures. By bringing rack cooling under control in this way, these solutions can improve server reliability.

Reduced energy consumption
With an even spread of temperature within the cold corridor, the under floor air temperature can be increased and this enables a significant reduction in energy consumption, reducing both costs and carbon footprint. The cold aisle containment solution can be retrofitted, and so its benefits can be experienced without a costly refurbishment or re-build.