If you have a small data center, a server room or a computer room, you can still benefit from the best practices used in larger installations. With the right tools, it’s possible to build a secure, efficient, manageable data center with just a few rack enclosures in a compact space.

Cooling is a perfect example. One of the easiest things you can do to increase cooling efficiency is to set up your rack cabinets in a hot-aisle/cold-aisle configuration. According to studies by TDI Data Centers, hot-aisle/cold-aisle can reduce energy use up to 20%. This requires at least two rows of cabinets, but you can get the same benefit in a smaller space by using a rack-level containment strategy.

Rack-level heat containment can be easily achieved by adding thermal duct kits to your Tripp Lite SmartRack^® Enclosures. A thermal duct kit includes an adjustable overhead duct and sealed airflow path to route hot air directly to the HVAC/CRAC return air stream. The negative pressure of the return air duct pulls heat from the enclosure without using additional electricity. Thermal duct kits are compatible with standard 42U to 48U SmartRack Enclosures. Rack-level containment works in spaces of all sizes and avoids the complexities and fire code problems of row containment systems.

Close-coupled cooling is more efficient than complete room cooling because the air duct is installed directly above the rack enclosure, minimizing the path that air must flow from the cooling unit through the IT equipment and back to the cooling unit. If you combine rack-level heat containment with close-coupled cooling, you’ll have a system that’s more efficient than those employed by data centers with hundreds of racks and thousands of square feet of floor space.

Almost every benefit of enterprise data center infrastructure can be adapted to smaller installations with solutions from Tripp Lite. Feel free to email a Data Center Support Specialist for more specific information based on your application.

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Increase Rack Cooling Efficiency and Solve Heat-Related Problems

Low-Cost and No-Cost Cooling Best Practices Provide Exceptional ROI for Small to Mid-Size Data Centers