Data Centre & Comms Room Cooling
Precision Cooling | 24/7 Operation | N+1 Redundancy | South East
Data centres and communications rooms demand cooling solutions that go far beyond standard comfort air conditioning. AirCon Doctor design and install precision cooling for data centres, comms rooms, network equipment rooms and telecommunications facilities across Surrey, Sussex and South London.
The Difference Between Comfort and Precision Cooling
Standard comfort cooling keeps people comfortable. Precision cooling keeps equipment alive. The distinctions that matter:
- Continuous operation: Data centres run 24/7/365. Precision cooling equipment is designed for continuous duty — standard domestic and commercial comfort cooling units are not.
- Sensible heat ratio: IT equipment produces almost entirely sensible (dry) heat. Standard cooling units are optimised for mixed sensible and latent (humid) loads. Precision cooling units have high sensible heat ratios — more efficient for the pure dry heat of IT equipment.
- Temperature and humidity control: ASHRAE recommends 18-27°C and 20-80% RH for IT equipment environments. Precision cooling maintains both parameters; standard cooling manages temperature only.
- Airflow direction: Servers need cold air at the front (intake) and warm air extracted from the rear. Precision cooling units are designed to deliver cold air to equipment intakes, not across the room generally.
Hot Aisle / Cold Aisle Design
For larger comms rooms and data centres, we design hot aisle / cold aisle server layouts — alternating rows of equipment with cold air intakes facing cold aisles and hot air exhausts facing hot aisles. This approach significantly improves cooling efficiency by separating cold supply and hot return air paths. We design the cooling system and server room layout together for maximum efficiency.
Redundancy
N+1 redundancy — one additional cooling unit beyond the minimum required — is the standard for any business-critical data environment. If a unit fails, the N+1 unit takes the full load while repairs are arranged. We design and install all data centre cooling with appropriate redundancy as standard.
Monitoring
Remote temperature and humidity monitoring with email and SMS alerting is installed as standard with all data centre cooling projects. Monitoring integrates with the client’s network management systems where possible. Early warning of cooling problems prevents equipment damage.
Brands We Specify
For precision cooling we specify Stulz, Airedale, Emerson (Liebert) and equivalent precision cooling brands — systems specifically designed for continuous operation in IT environments. For smaller comms rooms with modest heat loads, we specify commercial-grade inverter systems with 24/7-rated components rather than domestic units.
Coverage
We cover data centres and comms rooms across Crawley (Manor Royal), Guildford, Redhill and throughout Surrey, Sussex and South London. Emergency data centre call-out available — call 07833 053749 immediately for a data centre emergency.