Data centres in Malaysia and Singapore just too cool for words

By Digital News Asia February 26, 2014

82% of professionals in survey were running their data centres at below recommended levels
Every one degree Celsius lower from baseline can result in energy bills being up to 4% higher

Data centres in Malaysia and Singapore just too cool for words A RECENT survey conducted by intelligent power distribution unit (PDU) provider Enlogic has revealed that data centre operators in Malaysia and Singapore are running their facilities at far below the recommended temperature range.

According to Ashrae, formerly known as the American Society for Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning, the recommended high-end temperature range for class one data centres ranges from 25 to 27 degrees Celsius, with an upper limit of 32 degrees Celsius, Enlogic said in a statement.

The survey of 55 data centre professionals, conducted at Datacentre Dynamics in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, revealed that 82% were running their data centres at temperatures below 25 degrees Celsius.

In fact, a full 15 per cent of respondents were running their facilities at even lower temperatures, below 20 degrees Celsius, Enlogic said in its statement.

Data centres in Malaysia and Singapore just too cool for words “This severe over-cooling is adding needless energy costs to these facilities and reducing power utilisation efficiency as well,” said Eddie DeSouza (pic), head of business operations for Enlogic in Asia Pacific.

“It’s been estimated that every one degree Celsius baseline temperatures are lowered by, can result in higher energy bills of up to 4%.

“While there is no global standard guideline for cooling data centres, most turn to Ashrae for its recommendations.

“Notably, our survey revealed that 61% of respondents believed they were aware of Ashrae’s recommendations. Yet, when asked what the temperature range was, hardly any of the respondents could quote the correct range,” he added.

Ashrae has revised its guidelines for cooling data centres twice since it published its first guideline in 2004. That year, an upper limit of 25 degrees Celsius was recommended.

In 2008, the upper limit was revised to 27 degrees Celsius, and in 2011, the upper limit was again revised to 32 degrees Celsius.

“Refusing to raise the baseline temperatures may be a short-term view as it does mean data centre managers can keep lower rated technologies in situ,” DeSouza said.

“However, investing in the right technology, especially the right PDU can allow you to reduce overall cost of ownership and increase profitability,” he claimed.

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