Why Should I Monitor Temperature and Humidity in an IT Environment?

Electronic devices including computers, servers, storage and network devices give off heat. To counter this computer and server rooms, and data centres use cooling solutions including air conditioners, computer room air handlers, liquid and free cooling to maintain their IT facilities with the ASHRAE guidelines and recommendations (typically 18-25°C).

A typical server rack draws about 1-3kW in power and this equates to 1-3kW of heat output. In data centres server racks can be loaded with more power hungry servers with IT and heat loads rinsing to 5-30kW or more. If the cooling system fails, the room will see a sudden rise in temperature. Within a server rack, a loss of cooling can lead to the build-up of potential hot-spots and present a fire risk.

Monitoring the air moisture content within a server room or data centre is also important. The cooling system will be set to provide a certain airflow, at specific temperature and humidity level. Any change to the humidity level can indicate a problem with the cooling system or that water has entered the facility, either through a leaking HVAC system or flooding. Too low a humidity level can also be a problem as dry-air can present the opportunity for static build-up. High humidity can lead to mould and corrosion.

It is therefore important to monitor at least temperature in a 24/7 I environment and ideally both temperature and humidity.