2. Best Practice:
Cold-Aisle-Containment
To best realise a green computing environment and to decrease the energy consumption in a datacentre by
more than 30% the US-American Uptime Institute recommends arranging the server cabinets in aisles and separating the
hot cabinets from the cold cabinets, sealing the cold aisle. One method for this separation is a complete cold aisle contain-
ment created with aluminium profiles and solid
panels for the ceiling and racks. However, there is
a more cost efficient alternative that produces a
similar efficiency factor. By mounting a CoolCon-
trol Curtain, you can seal the cold aisle and make
a wise investment all at once. The CoolControl
Curtain fits to any dimension of current server rack,
meaning it can be retro-fitted to existing 19”
cabinets irrespective of size or manufacturer.
Recirculation of hot air causes high
hardware failures and is expensive
Active IT hardware takes the cooled air
in at the front of the racks. As the cool air travels
through the hardware, the air is heated and ex-
hausted at the back of the rack. As hot air rises up
the rear of the 19” cabinet, it flows over the top or
around the side of the cabinet and recirculates to the front of the rack in the cool aisle again. The hot air can also recir-
culate to the cold aisle through non-sealed openings between servers or vertical profiles in the cabinet. As this process
repeats itself, the temperature in the cold aisle gradually rises. Traditionally, increasing cooling output is the only way
to prevent overheating. Unfortunately, increasing cooling output increases energy consumption and your energy bill.
Cold Aisle Containment reduces the cooling consumption by up to 30 percent
It is essential to hermetically separate the hot air from the cold aisle. This separation can be done reliably with
the CoolControl Curtain. With constant cooling capacities, measurements show the temperature difference between the
hot and cold aisle are 10-15 degrees Celsius. Depending on the size and environmental specifics of individual data centres,
the cooling requirements and energy costs could be decreased by as much as 30%.
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Daxten
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Thermal Optimisation
Best Practices
An example of cold aisle containment
with a PVC curtain.
Hot air recirculates into the cold aisle.
A separation of the hot from the cold aisle is a standard
in modern datacentres.