Server Room and Comms Cabinet Cooling in Surrey

Why server rooms need dedicated cooling

Server rooms and comms cabinets generate heat continuously, whether or not anyone is in the building. Unlike general office space, which mainly needs cooling during occupied hours, this equipment needs a stable temperature around the clock, including evenings, weekends and holiday periods when the rest of the office system might otherwise be switched off.

Running server room cooling from the same system as the general office is possible in some smaller setups, but it usually means the whole office system has to stay on outside working hours just to keep one small room cool, which isn't efficient and gives no resilience if that shared system needs servicing or fails.

Heat loads from IT equipment

Server racks, switches, patch panels and UPS units all generate heat that's concentrated in a relatively small space compared with the equivalent floor area of a general office. We calculate the heat load based on the equipment actually installed, or planned, rather than estimating from room size, since two comms rooms of the same dimensions can have very different cooling needs depending on what's inside them.

It's worth reviewing this again if equipment is added or upgraded over time, since a room that was adequately cooled when it was set up can become undersized as more servers or networking equipment are installed.

Continuous versus intermittent operation

Because server rooms need cooling continuously, the equipment used should be suitable for that duty. Standard comfort cooling units designed for occasional daytime use aren't always intended to run non-stop, and we specify equipment appropriate for continuous operation where a room genuinely needs it around the clock.

Key differences for server room systems

• Continuous operation rather than office-hours-only running
• Tighter temperature tolerance to protect sensitive equipment
• Sometimes a requirement for back-up or resilient cooling on critical systems
• Condensate management planned carefully given the room often has no other drainage

Resilience and back-up considerations

For businesses where downtime from overheating equipment would be costly, some form of resilience is worth discussing, whether that's a second unit that can take over if the primary system needs servicing, or simply ensuring the room has adequate temperature monitoring so a fault is picked up before it causes a problem.

Not every business needs this level of resilience, and we'll talk through what's proportionate for your setup rather than recommending more than is actually needed.

Positioning equipment in a small room

Comms rooms and server cupboards are often small, sometimes converted from a store cupboard, which limits where an indoor unit can physically go. We look at rack layout, door swing and any existing cable management before deciding on unit position, so the cooling actually reaches the equipment rather than being blocked by racking or shelving.

Monitoring and maintenance

Because server rooms usually aren't visited as often as general office space, a fault can go unnoticed for longer if there's no monitoring in place. Simple temperature alerts, alongside regular servicing of the cooling unit itself, help catch problems before they affect equipment.

We recommend servicing server room cooling on the same cycle as general commercial systems, checking filters, refrigerant levels and general operation, but with particular attention to how consistently the unit has been running given the continuous duty.