It's finally here, the ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9 has released new recommendations for the temperature and humidity most ideal for data centers.
In a nutshell, dry bulb temperature recommendations now extend down to 64.4-degrees F, and UP to 80.6-degrees F and the humidity range is also expanded at both ends.
Both of these are VERY realistic in today's real world. Extending the LOWER limit down to 64.4F eliminates a great deal of need to mix HOT and COLD previously required to maintain the previous low limit of 68-degrees F. I could never really get a handle on why the recommendation of 68-degree was imposed. It seems to be counter-intuitive that a data center manager that mainly has a heat issue would be required to add heat back into the precious cooling stream... hence with the lower value, the DC manager will have to do this mix LESS often. Nice!
Perhaps more important for the majority of data center operators, is the official sanction to extend the UPPER limit now to 80.6-degree F. Touche'!!!! We all know that IT gear is spec'd well above these figures, and raising data center temperatures by even a single degree makes a significant impact into cooling costs. Immediately apparent is the ability to use economizer technologies for a much higher percentage of the hours each year.
The TC 9.9 guideline also shows some real thought for Moisture, with the UPPER and LOWER limits tuned to today's conditions and technologies.
The changes to the relative humidity guideline addresses the risks associated with Electro-static discharge (too low) and Conductive Anodic Filament growth (too high). This CAF basically occurs in dense PC board laminate dielectrics when tiny filaments of Copper spring out due to moisture and sometimes cause semiconductor-like connectivity between adjacent routes and vias (holes).
(Here is some light reading on CAF: http://www.parkelectro.com/parkelectro/images/CAF%20Article.pdf)
So what does this all mean to you??? It means that the operation of a data center using 'best practices' as recommended by ASHRAE will be much more manageable and potentially much more economical. We no longer have to 'baby' the IT gear, and treat it will soft kidd gloves. Intel, Seagate, Infineon and a slew of other IT gear component makers have gone to great lengths to design their individual component-level devices to work hard in a wide range of environments, and we have barely even approached the limits by any analysis. We have played it very safe for a very long time...
We can now feel empowered to stretch a bit. push a little faster, a little deeper and with a bit less rigor for the environment. A little common sense goes a long way...