The answer
Will ordinary office air conditioning keep a server room safe?
Not always. A server room produces heat day and night and may need cooling in winter too. Decide how hot the room can safely get and what happens if a unit fails before choosing equipment.
01 / 03
How much heat does your IT equipment make?
Use real equipment power figures and allow for growth you actually expect. Too little cooling risks shutdown; too much can make temperature and humidity harder to control.
02 / 03
How long can the room stay safe if a unit fails?
A room supporting critical services may need a second unit or automatic restart. Decide how quickly the temperature would rise and how much downtime you can accept.
03 / 03
Who will respond to an alarm?
Temperature, leak and power-loss alarms are useful only if someone receives them and can reach the room. Name the people and agree what they should do.
What happens if the cooling stops?
Measured IT power and planned growth establish the continuous heat to remove. Then decide how long the room can safely operate if cooling fails. A critical service may need independent backup capacity, automatic restart and monitored alarms; a less critical room may accept a response plan instead.
An alarm is only useful when someone receives it and can act. Agree the high-temperature threshold, condensate and power alerts, remote access and who can authorise an emergency visit. Keep drain and pipe routes away from vulnerable racks where practical.
What to check next
Your next steps
Where we checked the facts
Check the original information.
These official pages back up the rules and technical details above. They can change, so check them again before spending money or starting work.
Apply this to your own property
Which rooms could you heat or cool?
A free survey checks the rooms you want to heat or cool, equipment positions and what may fit your property.