Don’t Gamble on Your Server Room Cooling

Spring brings crazy weather to the state of Colorado that wrecks havoc on air conditioning systems.  Temperatures will soar to 85 °F one day, and the next day bring 8 inches of heavy wet snow.  A lot of air conditioning systems will fail during the spring when huge fluctuations in temperatures from day to day are common..

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One of the big casinos in Blackhawk gave Computer Room Uptime a call at 4 PM on a Friday in late April.  Their Computer Room Air Conditioner (CRAC) had failed and they needed cooling immediately.  Not quite the 3 AM phone call that presidential nominees talk about in their campaigns, but for IT Administrators it’s a dreaded reality of their stressful occupation.  The casino’s data center was heating up quickly, and EVERYTHING in the casino depended on the data center to operate properly.  From slot machines and video poker to cash registers and reservation software, each revenue producing system depends on the reliability of the data center.  Now put yourself in the general manager’s shoes, it’s the start of the weekend (the busiest time of the week) and you may have to shut your doors if the data center overheats.  How happy would all the other casinos in Blackhawk be if your customers had to spend their money at other casinos?  How would this affect the casino’s long-term reputation?

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The repercussions can be long-term for customers that discover new casinos and never return..Within a couple of hours of the first phone call Computer Room Uptime was in Blackhawk with 5 portable air conditioners to provide emergency cooling to the computer room.  The spot coolers totaled 6 Tons of cooling, or 72,000 Btu/hr. of cooling capacity into their small computer room.  Power was a concern, and the casino only had the following outlets available:  (4) 115 V outlets and (1) 208 V.  Therefore we brought a 2 Ton air conditioner that operates on 208 V, and (4) 1 Ton portable air conditioners that operate on 115 V to keep their server room cool.  Higher cooling capacity portable air conditioners (2 – 5 Tons) operate 208/230 V, while the smaller 1 Ton air conditioners operate on 115 V.

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One obstacle we had to overcome was the most efficient way to remove the warm exhaust air of the portable air conditioners.  The data center was located in the basement, so there was not a drop ceiling plenum available to duct the warm exhaust air into the ceiling.  We determined the best way to remove the warm exhaust air was to duct it down a long hallway.  At the end of the hallway we propped open a door to the outside of the building to get the warm exhaust out of the building.  The ironic thing about the situation was getting the spot coolers into the building through the snow on the ground, but then walking into the server room 50 yards away and having temperatures in the 90s smack you in the face as you walked into the overheated data center..Within minutes after the portable air conditioners were setup inside the computer room the temperatures quickly dropped into the 70s.

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It definitely was not the most aesthetically pleasing installation we’ve done, but it was very effective at cooling the server room.  Snaking all the exhaust ducts out of the data center door made it look like a deep sea monster (see picture), but the focus is always getting the cold air from the portable air conditioners directly in front of the server racks.  Despite what it looks like, when renting portable air conditioners for emergency cooling the most critical objective is to keep your valuable equipment cool enough to operate properly.

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Computer Room Uptime prides itself in creating innovative solutions for your difficult cooling applications.  We have a strong engineering background that allows us to push our air conditioners to the limit for your most demanding cooling applications.

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Experience You Can Trust.

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Computer Room Uptime sells and rents a wide variety of portable spot air conditioners to many different industries:  IT environments, Industrial / Construction, Offices / Schools, Health Care and Special Events.  Our air conditioners are extremely easy to install, and will adapt to almost any environment.  Computer Room Uptime will work with you on engineering the best cooling solution for your application at a fraction of the cost compared to other air conditioners.  We have over 20 years of experience designing and installing portable air conditioners.

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Computer Room Uptime is ready for all your temporary cooling needs throughout the state of Colorado and Wyoming.  We have a large rental fleet of portable air conditioners, and offer same day delivery to your Front Range (Denver, Englewood, Aurora, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Tech Center) location from our Denver warehouse.  Please call Computer Room Uptime at 303-908-8043 for your next portable air conditioning rental.

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Denver Portable Air Conditioner Rental

Casino Server Room Cooling - 2 Ton Portable Air Conditioner.Blackhawk Server Room Cooling
.Colorado Spot Cooling Rental.Fort Collins Portable Air Conditioners.Colorado Springs Portable AC Rentals

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