Data Center Cooling Accessory- Blanking Panel

So you decided to take our advice and revamp your data center to house the best airflow management systems. You got the best company to install hot aisle and cold aisle systems in your data center and you saw instant results. Power for cooling requirements suddenly dropped a great deal.  You are on your way to achieve the lowest possible PUE in your data center. All’s well that ends well? Yeah, I think not.

After a month, you suddenly note that the power used by your cooling equipments in one of the rows is rising again. Not at an alarming rate, but the rise is definitely notable. You inspect all the equipments for leakage and malfunction. But you come up with nothing. You are genuinely baffled. What went wrong?  Then you remember that you removed a server from that row last week. So what? Surely that cannot affect the airflow management system, right?

Wrong. Let me ask you a question. Did you replace the server you removed with another? No? Okay, did you block the empty void? No? Well, problem solved. Here’s what is happening in a nutshell. The void in the rack is providing a pathway for air from the hot aisle and the cold aisle to mix. As a result, the effective temperature of the air rises. Your cooling systems have to work overtime to provide the required cooling and maintain the temperatures in the aisles. Hence you note the rise in power consumption.

If you do not plan to replace the server immediately with another, here is what I suggest you do. Buy a blanking panel and fit it in the rack. A blanking panel acts as a closed window and completely cuts off the airflow pathway. This ensures that the cold aisle is devoid of hot air. They are a wonderful component to have in data centers insisting on energy saving. They even bring down the carbon footprint. They also reduce hotspots and bypass air thus keeping your data center at a cool temperature at all times.

You can take a look at a few blanking panel models that I took the liberty of looking up for you. You might want to try Hotlok blanking panels or Server-Rack-Online blanking panels. Yes, you are welcome.

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