Raising the temperature set point in data centers becomes a key objective for IT managers following the updated ASHRAE 2008 environmental recommendations for IT equipment. Running server rooms at higher supply temperatures improves energy efficiency, reduces costs and opens paths for new data center designs (i.e., using economizers and “free” cooling).

Temperature set point increases call for improved monitoring, real time hot-spot detection and alerting through the deployment of thermal and air flow sensors on data center equipment. This differs radically from current practices of environmental auditing done once or twice a year using thermal cameras.

The ability for IT operators to quickly react to an abnormal thermal event can be the key difference between overcooling (and incurring higher energy bills) and adopting new set points in a well-managed facility where “hot spot” impacts are avoided.

This calls for the adoption of energy and environmental optimization solutions that can:

• Report all real-time temperature, humidity and air flow sensor data
• Generate alerts when defined thresholds are reached
• Display on 2D and 3D maps the temperature recorded at various levels such as 1U, 21U and 42U in a server rack