Off the back of unseasonably high spring temperatures, data centre operators are being encouraged to prepare for the summer heat by working with specialist partners to supplement cooling in emergencies, maintenance, and upgrades.
The callout comes from temporary power generation and temperature control company Aggreko, which has warned that the combination of rising temperatures and ageing infrastructure could significantly impact uptime on industrial, commercial, and retail sites across the UK.
Temperatures exceeding 25°C are now becoming increasingly common throughout the nation, placing older generations of equipment, which aren’t designed to operate in these ranges, at risk of overheating and subsequently failing.
The chances of breakdowns are drastically raised if equipment hasn’t been properly maintained, with blocked condenser coils potentially forcing a system to overwork to the point of compressor failure.
In the data centre sector, even a brief failure in cooling systems could lead to catastrophic consequences. Without adequate temperature control, overheating can lead to hardware damage, data loss, and service outages, resulting in severe financial penalties.
As temperatures this year have already reached over 29°C, Chris Smith, Head of Temperature Control for UK and Ireland at Aggreko, has called upon data centre operators to assess their cooling capacity to ensure that critical operations remain uninterrupted.
He says, “If recent temperatures are anything to go by, then this summer is set to bring even more extreme conditions capable of driving equipment to the point of failure. If facilities rely on ageing HVAC systems to keep processes ticking, then the risk of breakdowns during heatwaves only increases.
“Working with a specialist in both HVAC and power can be the real difference maker. Doing so provides contractors with the opportunity to leverage specialist expertise and tailored solutions that address immediate cooling needs and safeguard operations against the risks posed by extreme temperatures.”
Aggreko claims that with a ‘thorough understanding of the challenges of critical temperature applications,’ its team of technical experts can help determine the temporary and supplementary cooling, heating, and dehumidification solutions required based on a project, location, and temperature requirements.
Its cooling provision spans industrial chillers ranging from 50kW to 1500kW, air conditioners in sizes from 50kW to 200kW, and cooling towers with single units from 2500kW or combined units for multi-megawatt projects.
For more from Aggreko, click here.
