Three things to remember when building a data centre
Summary
This sudden digital shift, together with the latest developments in 5G communication, is stimulating a need for more cloud-based and online solutions, which in turn is motivating huge investments in IT infrastructure such as data centres. In this article, Hiroki Nishiyama, global manager of data centre marketing at Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, explains further about the challenges facing this important rising industry. In fact, it can be a surprising amount of heat, which of course is also wasted energy, but if left unchecked, will over time contribute to a gradual degradation of the electrical components, hastening the failure of the all-important IT servers. And that means electricity bills are just getting bigger by the day, and that is why energy efficiency is one of the highest priorities.” There are lots of imaginative ways to reduce the heat in data centres, from pioneering work to run data centres in the sea, to taking more immediate steps of turning lights off, using LEDs where necessary, reducing windows, and improving the energy efficiency of air handling and conditioning through the use of inverters on motors that drive pumps, compressors and fans. For redundant PLC systems, it is also essential that the main and standby PLCs are separated physically, meaning a different power source and installation location to maximise the ‘protection’.