Server room cooling

[Tim Nelson]

I am looking into getting an air conditioner for our server room, since right now it is only passively vented.

 

Does anybody have a recommendation for an airconditioner that is easy to install and relatively inexpensive? Our server room is fairly small, probably around 5x8 feet, with about 12' ceiling.

 

Thanks

[Chad Warner]

Not that it's the prettiest of solutions, but we put a window unit in our server room (of course it requires a window) and it works like a champ.

 

-Chad

[aaron-cds]

If you don't have a window there are portable units.

 

Fedders

Fedders 9,000 BTU Electronic Portable Air Conditioner

 

Model A6P09S2BCOM

 

Price: $399.00/ea

 

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0274804303.1150398443@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccfiaddidgjgmdicgelceffdfgidgln.0&CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=misc/searchResults.jsp&MID=9876&N=2984+4370&pos=n08

[Tim Nelson]

I guess we have a couple obstacles to overcome. 1) No window and 2) No place to drain water.

 

Does that mean we'd have to buy a unit that has a bucket for water collection and empty it everyday? Seems like an upleasant prospect to me. We do have a/c in our office, but of course there is no supply to the server room. Plus the server room gets so much hotter than the rest of the office, it needs a dedicated cooling source.

[aaron-cds]

Condensation is a given with ac systems. You can always get a pump for the condesation and feed it into a drain pipe to avoid manually emptying the drain pan. When the pump fails there may be serious trouble.

 

It may be cheaper just to extend a duct from the existing hvac ducts. Talk to a hvac company to see what your options are.

[Tim Nelson]

It may be cheaper just to extend a duct from the existing hvac ducts. Talk to a hvac company to see what your options are.

Well the good news is that the main hvac duct passes right through the top of our server room, so it would just be a matter of cutting it open and adding another duct. I guess that would be the easiest thing to do, but I just wonder if it will be enough to keep it cool. I guess we could put a fan in the wall to exhaust some of the hot air too.

[aaron-cds]

I guess we could put a fan in the wall to exhaust some of the hot air too.

 

It sounds to me like you've got a good sollution then. There are dampers that can be added in the duct to regulate the amount of cool air the server room receives. Changing the drain pans daily is probably not something that anyone in your office wants to do.

[tecton3d]

Well the good news is that the main hvac duct passes right through the top of our server room, so it would just be a matter of cutting it open and adding another duct. I guess that would be the easiest thing to do, but I just wonder if it will be enough to keep it cool. I guess we could put a fan in the wall to exhaust some of the hot air too.

Make sure before you go cutting into the wall that you know what kind of framing it is... platform has a member @ the top of the wall assembly that will block your attempt to expel air through that cavity.

 

a duct straight from the HVAC should suffice:D