Being able to log in and monitor the environment is something you can do with the Ravica line of SensorProbes. I would suggest getting one of the temperature and humidity probes to start with. From my research, high humidity plays a big role in the cost and operation of your air conditioning units. Being able to trend and be alerted during these times can be beneficial.

Next, I would use the airflow probe to tell me when the unit is on. I know, it is an odd way to detect the air conditioners state, but trust me, it’s logical. You can use an airflow sensor on any type of unit. Like the one in the above picture or built-in industrial type. With an airflow sensor, you are not limited to testing current flow or temperature.

Last, but not least, I would use the Sensor Controlled Relay to be able to turn off the unit, if you needed to, in an emergency situation.

So the good news is that you can implement Ravica’s environmental probes in various ways to help monitor your environment. What’s even better is that this technology is available to every one.

- JimmyD

Solutions . . .

A great example is the solution that I found for a local amusement park. One of their outdoor venues was having an issue with their digital photography equipment overheating. It wasn’t economical to add air condition to the unit, so they needed to find a way to turn on multiple overhead fans automatically.

The management of this unit fell under the IT department, and the admin wanted to remotely monitor the data from his office (or any other portable device). The end solution was to monitor multiple environmental variables with the Ravica Sensor Probe and use the Sensor Controlled Relay to switch on the fan when the room temperature rises beyond the threshold level.

Since the sensor control unit has a user friendly web interface and an autosense feature, setting up the Sensor Controlled Relay is easy. The Sensor Controlled Relay can also be controlled via external computers, using the included SNMP command line utilities either interactively or programmatically.

From the unit itself, you can monitor the status of the Sensor Controlled Relay by four LEDs on the board. You can also monitor the unit remotely by using SNMP traps or the web interface, as well as e-mail and SMS alerts.

Implementation . . .

“The Sensor Controlled Relay provides 1 high-power SPDT 5V relay, with the maximum load up to 15A at 220 VAC. It includes Metal Oxide Varistors (MOVs) and Snubber circuits to protect the open contacts of the relays from high voltage spikes or noise transients. It monitors the power and load, and accepts a control signal, which is sent from the SensorProbe.”

We outsourced a local contractor to do the electrical work and the end result was better then we expected. Not only did we eliminate the equipment from overheating, but we are also able to trend the temp of the units over a given amount of time. This gave the admin a better picture of demand and heat generation.

Another thing to remember is the inlaid protection of this sensor. The Sensor Controlled Relay, it has a built in 16Amp circuit breaker and a 15Amp fuse (380 VAC, 125 VDC) giving it double protection for the external devices and possible damages by electrical fault. This assures protection for your sensor and your investment.

Conclusion . . .

As you can see, the Ravica Sensor Controlled Relay has many uses. It’s ability to control an array of analog devices makes it a versatile solution. It’s ability to monitor and protect itself make it a smart investment. That is why I recommend it every chance that I get.

- JimmyD

Yahoo last month announced plans to build its greenest data center in Lockport, N.Y. Yahoo co-founder and Chief Yahoo David Filo explains in his blog that the data center will be designed to use 100% outside air to cool the servers. And the resource used to power the data center and the servers will be the renewable hydroelectric power from the Niagara Falls.    
Filo writes that the data center design will have an annualized average PUE (power usage effectiveness) of 1.1 or better. The company’s other facilities in Washington are powered by wind and hydroelectric sources. Outside air (or what the industry terms “free cooling”) is used for cooling most of the year, helping Yahoo to reduce energy consumption by 40% to 50%.

Search rival Google uses free cooling almost year round in its data center in Belgium, where the average summer temperature is between 66°F and 71°F (19°C and 22°C), writes Data Center Knowledge. That temperature range falls way below the 80°F (27°C) temperature that Google maintains for its data centers, adds Data Center Knowledge.

You’ll recall last week in this blog that our friend, Chuck Cahoon, solutions architect at CDW, recommended that the ambient temperature range in data centers should be between 68°F to 75°F (20°C to 24°C). Companies that have set the temperature higher than 75°F say they see savings spent on air conditioning as a result, according a separate Data Center Knowledge article. That article cites Mark Monroe of Sun Microsystems as saying that data centers can save 4% in energy costs for every increased degree in baseline temperature.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) in its 2008 ASHRAE Environmental Guidelines for Datacom Equipment expanded its recommended operating envelope. The low-end and high-end temperatures in its 2008 guidelines are 64.4°F (18°C) and 80.6° (27°C), respectively. This differs from its 2004 guidelines for low-end and high-end temperatures of 68°F and 77°F, respectively.

However, Data Center Knowledge warns that raising the temperature could leave companies with less time to recover from a cooling failure. Operating at a higher temperature should only be done by customers that have a high understanding of the cooling conditions in their facility, Data Center Knowledge adds.

The ASHRAE guidelines also note other issues for data centers operating at higher temperatures:

• Gains in energy efficiency could be offset by the data center equipment having to work harder to compensate for the higher inlet air temperatures.
• The higher temperatures could cause condensation on the refrigerated coils of refrigerated cooling systems, requiring data centers to humidify to replace the lost moisture in the air. (This is where humidity monitoring is essential.)
• Higher temperatures could result in noisier data centers.

For data centers operating at higher temperatures, environmental monitoring that encompasses temperature monitoring, humidity monitoring, and water leaks is key.

1. Blowing hot and cold: Having parallel rows of equipment racks facing forward may look neat and tidy but it could make a sauna out of your data center. IT equipment sucks in cool air via the front and pushes out hot air from the back. If a machine is spewing out hot air the device behind it is sucking that in when it should be taking in cold air. Imagine how hot the air must be in the last row of machines. The ideal placement for rows of equipment would be to have the front of the servers facing each other. The backs of the rows should also be facing each other to create a hot aisle/cold aisle configuration.

2. Place cables overhead: If the space underneath the raised floor is a spaghetti junction of cables cool air won’t be able to do its job in the data center. Cables should be distributed overhead and unused raised floor cutouts should be blocked to eliminate unwanted air leakage. The Green Grid recommends that perforated tiles, with a design of about 25% open area, should be used to ensure uniform and predictable airflow distribution in lower density areas.

3. Recommended temperatures: The recommended range of temperature for critical enterprise server and storage environments is between 64.4° to 80.6° F (18° to 27° C), according to the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), as cited in the whitepaper. ASHRAE also specifies a dew point value of about 5.5° C (41.9° F).

4. Set air conditioners to the same levels: Computer room air conditioning units with humidifiers are a great addition to ensure optimum humidity of the data center but if you have more than one, be sure that they are set to the same settings. If not, they could be operating at odds with one dehumidifying the air while the other is humidifying it.

5. Cool the source. The white paper recommends using row and rack-based cooling to address dynamic hot spots that can form as workloads are constantly shifted from one server to another. Cool air has a much shorter path of distribution, so bringing cooling closer to the heat source is key.