ASHRAE - American Society of Heating@ Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers@ Inc.
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ASHRAE 90437-2005
Scope
"Introduction Datacom (data processing and telecommunications) facilities are predominantly populated with computers@ networking equipment@ electronic equipment@ and peripherals. The most defining HVAC characteristic of data and communications equipment centers is the potential for exceptionally high heat loads??often orders of magnitude greater than in a typical office building. In addition@ the equipment installed in these facilities typically: Serves mission critical applications (i.e.@ continuous operation 7 days ?? 24 hours). The potential consequences of downtime to the enterprise must be thoroughly examined by all interested parties from as early in the design of the project as possible. Single points of failure must be addressed from a design standpoint so that they can be identified and eliminated. Has special environmental requirements (temperature@ humidity@ and cleanliness). The need to provide high reliability means that careful attention must be given to maintenance of appropriate temperature@ humidity@ and cleanliness criteria. This will be discussed in great detail throughout the publication but is particularly and specifically covered in chapter 2@ ""Design Criteria@"" where the Class 1-Class 4 and NEBS classifications of standardized conditions are defined and discussed. Has the potential for overheating and resultant equipment failure due to a sudden loss of cooling. Thermal failure of compute equipment and hardware is only one manifestation of the risk associated with high temperatures and lack of environmental control. Shortened life span of electronic equipment and intermittent failures of the datacom equipment with disruption to the enterprise@ failure to maintain service level agreements (SLA)@ and subsequent costs are additional considerations. The design of any datacom facility should also address the fact that most datacom equipment will be replaced one or more times during the life of the facility with more current technology. As described in ASHRAE's Datacom Equipment Power Trends and Applications (ASHRAE 2005i)@ typical datacom equipment product cycles are 1 to 5 years@ whereas the datacom facility that houses this equipment and the HVAC equipment and infrastructure have life cycles that could be anywhere from 10 to 25 years. Replacement equipment has historically required more demanding power and cooling requirements. In addition to replacement of datacom equipment over the life of the facility@ there is a continual need to upgrade individual computer devices@ which will probably result in a change in the heat load and a change in the needs for air distribution. To the extent that changes can be planned for or otherwise accommodated during the life of the electronic space@ careful consideration must be given by all potentially impacted stakeholders as to how these additions and modifications might take place. It may also be necessary to plan for future physical expansion and increases in both localized and overall watt density. This may include headers@ conduits@ and other infrastructure provisions to accommodate equipment in a plug and play fashion over the useful life of the facility. Understanding the critical parameters outlined above is essential to facility design in this environment. The intended audience for this document is: ? Planners and managers planning a datacom facility ? Datacom facility design teams planning and designing a datacom facility ? Datacom facility architects and engineers who require insight on datacom equipment energy density and installation planning trends."
ASHRAE 90437-2005 history
2005ASHRAE 90437-2005 Design Considerations for Datacom Equipment Centers