Data centre and design build specialist Keysource has published two white papers revealing the findings of an industry experts’ round table.

The white papers address two key industry topics: the use of fresh air in data centres and raising inlet temperatures within a facility.

Representatives from The Uptime Institute, Operational Intelligence, Colt, Fujitsu, Vocalink, Norland and 451 Group joined Keysource for the round table. The event was designed to promote healthy debate based on real experiences within the market. From the findings, the white papers identified potential industry-wide problems within these two key areas. In addition, they offer potential solutions to help data centre and facilities managers overcome these challenges.

The Use of Fresh Air white paper suggests that there is very little to choose from between a direct fresh air system and a re-circulating indirect system, in terms of ongoing operational efficiency. Across the industry, there is an increasing drive to remove the need for mechanical cooling such as chillers, which are widely used as a back-up to the direct system. However, it was found that there will always be operators that will not adopt a chiller-less environment, with data centre resilience is of greater importance than energy efficiency.

In terms of raising inlet temperatures in data centres, the white paper explains that the industry is waiting for the IT sector to catch up so it can take advantage of what can be achieved by adding a few more degrees on to the standard allowable range through a leniency on warranties. In addition, rather than constantly running higher inlet temperatures, operators can dynamically control certain set points to deal with higher external ambient temperatures, where a few more degrees of free cooling could be available.

Director of Keysource, Rob Elder, said: “With the continuing consumerisation of IT and the growth of cloud computing, demand for data centres continues to remain high. With so much demand for data, cooling remains high on the agenda and we see it as a priority to research new and innovative ways of cooling data centres. We want to offer the market ways of cutting back costs and reducing carbon footprint, whilst remaining competitive. Keysource and The Uptime Institute thought it was timely to bring together the industry’s thought leaders to share our experiences and opinions.”

To read and download the white papers in full visit http://www.keysource.co.uk/data-centre-white-papers.aspx