The Sensor Requirements of Data Centers

The Sensor Requirements of Data Centers

If you are looking for a temperature and humidity cloud-based monitoring system that helps you and your team eliminate manual logging, improve compliance readiness, and protect all your temperature-sensitive assets, you’ve arrived at the right place. 

Some of the finest names in healthcare, including Indiana University Health, University of Michigan Health System, and Stanford University, rely on Sonicu to provide a robust and continuous environmental monitoring system, including temperature, humidity, air pressure and more. 

These respected healthcare and research brands turn to Sonicu for four primary reasons:

• Real-Time Monitoring: the sensors collect temperature, humidity, air pressure data and more, and transmit it wirelessly to SoniCloud - our cloud-based platform.
• Operational Efficiency: Virtually eliminate the need for tedious and costly manual logging 
• Compliance Automation: Respond to any regulatory audit or inspection in a few clicks with our reports section
• Asset Protection: Detect and respond to any threshold that can threaten anything perishable: food, drugs, vaccines, research, etc. 

Our customers stay with us thanks to our American-based customer support, which is never more than a phone call away. While our technology is intuitive and powerful, we know it’s only as strong as the people who stand behind it.

The Temperature and Humidity Sensor Requirements of Data Centers

As we embrace the digital era, it is essential for data center owners and managers to lead the way in addressing energy efficiency challenges. By implementing more energy-efficient IT equipment and optimizing cooling and air-conditioning systems, data centers can significantly reduce their environmental impact while ensuring cost savings. 

Embracing sustainable practices not only benefits the industry but also contributes to a cleaner and greener future for our planet.

Data centers play a crucial role in our digital world, but their rapid growth has raised concerns about energy consumption and environmental impact. 

Of all issues that stress data center owners and managers, the necessity for better energy efficiency is paramount. 

This article explores the sector's significant energy demands, the impact of energy costs, and the growing pressure from governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Data centers account for nearly one percent of the world’s energy consumption, and this number is expected to grow as more consumers adopt cloud storage while more businesses sunset antiquated paper-driven processes for cloud-based solutions. 

In turn, this means this sector is heavily impacted when there is volatility in electricity costs,  which has led to a greater focus on energy efficiency in the data center industry. 

Conversely, regulators and government leaders all over the world are insisting on energy-hungry industries investing more in opportunities that decrease the reliance on fossil fuels. 

Combating climate change and adopting more sustainable technologies has rapidly shifted from a fringe issue to being a primary focus on data centers and other facilities that consume large amounts of power. 

Not to mention those energy solutions which can help cut down greenhouse gas emissions. 

Typically, the IT infrastructure of a data center represents almost 60% of its energy needs. 

So energy efficiency is always a key point to consider and newer equipment and technology usually delivers more energy reduction opportunities. 

Yet, there’s room to achieve greater energy efficiency in the remaining 40% of a data center’s power demands. In this particular context, excellent opportunities are to be had from these facilities’ cooling and air conditioning systems. 

To ensure effective energy management, data centers must rely on accurate, reliable, and continuous monitoring data. This includes measuring several key parameters within the facility.

Sonicu helps organizations monitor their temperature and humidity conditions, as well as their air pressure differential and noise levels. 

First of all, for IT infrastructure to function at peak performance consistently, temperature and humidity control must be very efficient. 

Sonicu's temperature and humidity advanced wireless monitoring systems monitor the temperature and humidity levels at which an organization's freezers, fridges, and more operate. 

These systems are crucial to prevent the damage of stored assets and the life of the personnel visiting and working in the facility. 

Organizations can prevent equipment failures and potential data loss, by making temperature and humidity control a top priority. Also, the right humidity range ensures a stable and secure operating environment. 

Second of all, monitoring air pressure patterns is vital for efficient cooling and heat dissipation. Proper airflow management helps prevent the formation of hotspots and ensures uniform temperature distribution. 

Sonicu can help you monitor all of the above in your data centers. With our sensors, you will receive alerts and notifications whenever there is a threshold exceeded that puts at risk your facility, assets, and people. 

The data captured by the sensors is then transmitted to SoniCloud, our cloud-based platform, and is easily accessible and available 24/7 for review for the users. 

This insistence on top performance in the industry is attributed to the value of the data and processes such IT infrastructure routinely handles. Effective energy management is closely tied to the constant and accurate monitoring of data. 

This brings us to the question- in a data center, what are the variables that must be measured and where?

And what role does  Sonicu's temperature and humidity monitoring systems have? 

Well, read on to find out more.

From cold and frozen temperature storage to ambient conditions like relative humidity and air pressure differential to specific needs like CO2 and VOC monitoring, Sonicu provides a full suite of monitoring solutions. 

You can learn more about how our software helps compliance professionals in these case studies:

Xytex Sperm Bank 

Problem: Too many false alarms on cryo monitoring lead to ignoring an alarm 

Solution: Smart alarms that don’t produce alert fatigue 

Ohio University

Problem: Cumbersome and costly legacy monitoring with difficult customer service

Solution: Simple and affordable solution with third-party sensor capabilities to drive down costs 

Hamilton County Health Department: Vaccine Protection and Compliance. 

Problem: Data loggers that lacked remote viewing capabilities and compliance automation 

Solution: Remote viewing capabilities for weekend peace of mind and simple compliance

Temperature as a Threat to Efficiency Gains: How Sonicu's wireless monitoring systems can help save money 

Founded in 2008 in Greenfield, Indiana, Sonicu began manufacturing noise monitors to protect vulnerable infants in neonatal intensive care units, and has evolved to monitor and protect a diverse set of sensitive conditions and environments. 

Sonicu offers a comprehensive solution for temperature monitoring by utilizing wireless sensors that can be strategically placed in diverse locations and environments. These sensors efficiently collect data, which is then transmitted to our cloud-based platform, SoniCloud.

To prevent overheating and potentially catastrophic system failures, cooling and air conditioning systems are essential in a data center to safely manage the heat created by IT equipment.

So it’s always important to monitor temperature readings in various areas in such a facility.

• the aisles and racks 
• the air ducts
• the ventilation system 
• cooling system pipes 
• the exterior of the facility

The spaces being monitored need to be representative of the whole data center. Effective cooling and air conditioning play a critical role in dissipating the heat generated by IT equipment, preventing overheating, and avoiding equipment failures. 

Ensuring a well-monitored temperature environment is essential in all spaces, including the aisles, racks, ventilation system ducts, cooling system pipes, and outdoor areas. 

The strategic placement of temperature sensors throughout these locations is vital to maintain a truly representative measurement and detect potential cold or hot spots.

Also, the sensor network should manage to flag any potential cold or hot spots both in real-time and by analyzing historical trends to help facility managers improve how they manage these dynamic environments. 

You can learn more about how our software helps compliance professionals in these case studies:

Hancock Regional Hospital 

Problem: Pharmacy Suffered Too Much Humidity In New Wing, impacting Compounding Pharmacy

Solution: Affordable Humidity Monitoring that Delivered Powerful data to prompt contractors to fix improperly sized air handler 

Hendricks Hospital 

Problem: The dining department struck with regulatory violations 

Solution: Enterprise-wide monitoring that automates regulatory compliance across all departments 

Exide Technologies

Problem: Release of lead particles in battery projects 

Solution: Mobile, affordable air pressure monitoring solution 

For bigger data facilities, precise monitoring of temperature levels can prove to be daunting since they’re more susceptible to spatial temperature variability. 

In such situations, there will be a need for enough temperature sensors to make sure every server is monitored. 

Professionals from healthcare, life science, laboratory, and cold chain facility management already rely on Sonicu to help them improve the way they do business. 

There is always potential for three-dimensional temperature variability in larger data centers as well because of the placement of servers. With some closer to the cooling units, others farther away, yet others at the bottom of racks and still others higher up.

Another critical item that needs to be addressed is optimally distributing airflow and cooling all through a server room. One metric that nearly all facilities of this sort have to monitor is known as Delta T. 

Basically, this is the temperature difference between hot and cold aisles within a data center. 

There are four  Delta Ts that must be monitored to make a data center’s cooling operations more efficient.

1. The first is the difference in temperature of the air before and after it enters IT equipment. 
2. The second is the difference in temperature of the cooling equipment. 
3. The third is the difference in temperature of the air leaving the coolers and that entering IT equipment. 
4. Lastly, the difference in temperature for air exiting IT equipment and that entering the coolers.

Data center managers can effortlessly understand the various factors that impact their facilities’ cooling inefficiencies by accurately monitoring these four Delta T metrics. 

This, in turn, can play a critical role in providing insights into mitigation and improvements that may be achieved to optimize overall data center performance, stability and longevity.

At Sonicu we understand the significance of effective heat management in diverse climates and our sensors ensure optimal heat dissipation for critical applications. 

In drier climates,  our sensors enable efficient evaporative cooling, keeping your system running at peak performance without any overheating concerns. Meanwhile in colder climates, our direct cooling solution ensures reliable temperature monitoring and protection against freezing issues. 

To capitalize on this trend, Sonicu offers a high-quality sensor for taking readings of cooling and heating liquid temperatures which delivers rapid response times and greater accuracy. 

This sensor is part of Sonicu’s HVAC product lines that ensure extremely precise temperature readings in data centers. 

These sensors are part of Sonicu’s Smart Internet of Things capability, which provides the ability to monitor just about any variable with a commercially available sensor that includes a 420 mA output. 

“Customers rely on Sonicu to capture all sorts of unique yet significant variables like air flow through an HVAC filter, light detection in an animal laboratory and water detection monitoring in a data center,” said Bryan Mitchell, Vice President, Marketing, Sonicu. 

“We take great pride in helping our clients save time and money by leveraging affordable third-party sensors with our cloud-based monitoring solution to help them get alerts to their phone and more easily collect compliance data.”

From automating complex and tedious regulatory reports to significantly reducing time spent on manual processes, Sonicu helps private, public, and government agencies focus on their core business and less time on monitoring their assets and environments. 

Sonicu streamlines regulatory compliance from private and government agencies including the Joint Commission, FDA, CDC, VFC, State Boards of Pharmacy and local boards of health. 

Best Humidity Monitoring for Data Center Efficiency 

Humidity is yet another issue that adversely impacts IT equipment in data centers. Sonicu's cutting-edge humidity monitoring solutions offer unmatched precision, ensuring your data center operates at its peak potential. 

Did you know that humidity levels can pose risks of static electricity?

To begin with, lower levels of humidity heighten the dangers of static electricity discharge. Sonicu has the ideal sensor that mitigates such concerns effectively. 

Conversely, elevated levels of humidity often lead to condensation and ultimately, corrosion of metallic equipment. With Sonicu, you can confidently avoid such pitfalls and safeguard your most valuable assets. We provide peace of mind. 

The colder ambient air may be used to cool data center equipment. This process is referred to as economization. 

As the relative humidity in the air diminishes when it’s heated and the absolute water content of ambient air may be low, humidity levels in a data center can fall beneath the suitable level. This calls for proper controls to be in place to prevent this occurrence. 

Depending on the location and application of a data center, there are different humidity readings that can be taken. 

For instance, readings of relative humidity and dew point may be taken in indoor spaces, ducts, and even the outdoors. Sonicu has the perfect humidity sensors to suit your needs.

Finally, enthalpy sensors are usually the solution of choice for airside economizers. For those who might be in the dark, enthalpy simply denotes the total heat energy (both sensible and latent heat) that plays a part in thermodynamic changes. 

Such calculated humidity parameters can be accessed conveniently and directly using advanced humidity sensors including those Sonicu offers. 

Dry bulb, single enthalpy, and dual enthalpy are some of the most common sensor configurations for airside economizer control. 

Sonicu’s transmitters are suited for data center applications including air conditioning and economization. These systems can take accurate readings of humidity and temperature, with derived outputs for dew point, wet bulb temperature, and enthalpy. 

Additionally, temperature sensors normally aren't affected by drift. But traditional humidity sensors are. 

Drift in this context is a sensor error that is triggered by changes in temperature. The drift of temperature and humidity sensors is divided into zero drift and temperature drift. These two varieties of drift impact the reading accuracy of sensors. 

To address this issue, humidity sensors now leverage HUMICAP technology to ensure long-term stability and invulnerability to interference like dust or condensation. 

HUMICAP-equipped sensors are now the gold standard in diverse applications where long-term accuracy, reliability, and maintenance-free properties of humidity sensors are required. 

Airflow in ducts lets humidity sensors rapidly react to altering conditions. 

On the other hand, air circulation in rooms along with other interior spaces may be slow. 

This makes some data centers have a preference for using dew point temperature as a humidity control metric since it’s not dependent on the sensor’s temperature. Humidity sensors may also be deployed to take readings of differential pressure within ducts and in between hot and cold aisles. 

Not to mention taking readings of exterior meteorological metrics including air pressure, rainfall, wind speed, and direction. 

Outdoor sensors must be positioned in areas where there’s free airflow and away from any surface which may radiate heat and disturb the accuracy of the humidity readings taken. 

Case Study
Indiana University Health: Enterprise Hospital For Temp, Humidity, Air Pressure

Your Affordable Data Center Monitoring Solution: Sonicu 

When compared to the value of the systems and information processed by data centers, the cost of acquiring accurate and stable temperature and humidity monitoring solutions is truly negligible. 

When combined with the financial and environmental energy inefficiency costs, there is always a need for exhaustive monitoring and control solutions that leverage the most accurate and dependable sensors.

Easy to install and configure and supported by live American-based phone support, Sonicu is the affordable, intuitive, and trusted temperature and environmental monitoring solution trusted nationwide. 

Sonicu helps scores of data center clients drive down energy costs while protecting valuable and costly equipment with monitoring solutions that are easy to install and configure and are backed by live U.S. based phone support. 

“Sonicu has been a powerful tool to identify which units are behaving out of spec and get our team
to fix them before we have a serious issue.”
Tim Livesay, Director, Hancock Regional Hospital Pharmacy Director