Dehumidifiers to reduce humidity in Data Centers & Server Rooms

Data centres and Server rooms need humidity control with dehumidifiers. High humidity will cause condensation in critical components. Low humidity will cause static electricity. Hence we need to control the humidity levels at safe levels.

No matter how well a building is built, nature has a way of getting humidity inside and endangering the servers. Humidity is a problem for data centres and their server rooms. Proper steps need to be taken to prevent damage to the company due to humidity.

High humidity & Low Humidity cause damage in data centre & server rooms

While temperature is a concern, it is the humidity that can cause the most damage. What makes humidity such a dangerous problem is its two-pronged attack. If the humidity level is too high, then the humidity will develop condensation.

In turn, this moisture will cause corrosion in all the metal parts of the server. This includes wiring. Corrosion leads to electrical shorts. With electrical shorts, servers will break down, lose data and the company loses uptime.

But high humidity is not the only challenge in causing problems. If the humidity is too low, then the lack of moisture in the air will allow the servers to develop electrostatic charges. When this electricity is discharged, sensitive electronic equipment is damaged or ruined.

Both prongs of humidity’s attacks will cause a lot of problems for a data centre. First, there is downtime. With servers damaged or ruined, they cannot do the job they were designed to do. Second, the repairs or replacement of these damaged servers can be costly. Not only in terms of downtime but also in financial terms.

This is why data centres take great care in monitoring the humidity levels(Read about our Monitoring Systems). Humidity can cause a lot of damage to a data centre and its servers.

How to reduce humidity in data centres and server rooms?

There are several ways in which a data centre can combat the humidity problem in its server room. Because temperature is also a problem, most data centres will use air conditioning to help control the humidity level. But air conditioners do not control the humidity to the exact required levels.

Air conditioners are effective, but they also do have some limitations. Air conditioners cannot monitor every area of the room. Their monitoring sensors do not reach around corners or obstacles.

These limitations are why data centres also use environmental sensors, dehumidifiers and also venting techniques that provide inexpensive cooling. Unfortunately, while this system is frequently used, its air is a lot drier and leads to electrostatic problems.

There are three ideal levels for server rooms to function correctly:

1. Temperature Control: The first level is temperature control. The ideal temperature level runs between 60 and 80 degrees F.
2. Humidity: The second level is humidity. The ideal humidity levels between 40 to 60 per cent relative humidity.
3. Dew Point: The final level is the dew point. This depends on a lot of parameters including the per cent of the air intake, outside humidity etc. We take care of this during our design phases.

Types of Data centre Dehumidifiers:

Dehumidifiers are the best way to monitor and maintain proper humidity levels. There are two kinds of dehumidifiers that are used to help keep server room humidity levels at their proper levels:

1. Desiccant dehumidifier: These dehumidifiers do not operate in the same manner as a refrigerant style dehumidifier. They do not use coolant to remove the moisture from the air. (Read more about Desiccant dehumidifier)
2. Condensation dehumidifier: These units work to lower the condensation that gathers in a high humidity environment. Of course, for either dehumidifier to work properly, the data centre’s maintenance technicians need to do proper calculations. (Read more about Condensation dehumidifier)

They need to know the capacity of the dehumidifiers, room size, the location of hot spots and other important details. It is not a matter of simply purchasing a dehumidifier and placing it in the room.

Why condensation dehumidifier is the preferred choice for data centres?

The reason condensation dehumidifiers are the preferred choice over desiccant dehumidifiers has to do with the latter’s limitations. It also has to do with the simple operation of the condensation dehumidifier.

The fan of the condensation dehumidifier simply pulls in the hot, humid air through a cool evaporative cooling element. This element then cools the air down below the lowest optimum dew point level.

The now cool air turns to water and condenses on to the cooling element. As the air turns into water, the water drips into a pan which then drains the water to a harmless place.

But this is not all that a condensation dehumidifier does. After the removal of humidity, the process is completed, and the condensation dehumidifier reheats the air so that it can trap more humidity. And the process starts all over again.

The condensation dehumidifies are simple to operate and is also slightly cheaper. They work a lot better at higher temperatures and higher humidity levels. This is one of the main reasons why data centers opt for condensation dehumidifiers over other alternatives.

Other reasons why data centres choose condensation dehumidifiers over other models is that their capacity levels are higher. Their ability to drain large amounts of moisture makes them a very attractive option. They also do not emit any foul odours while doing their job.

Some alternative dehumidifiers use dry air to remove moisture from the air. This process develops a bad smell. Unfortunately, there is no way to separate this odour from the discharged air.

In the Middle East, we supply these data centre dehumidifiers in the United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Tunisia etc.
In Africa, we serve countries including Kenya, Algeria, Tanzania, Djibouti, Chad, Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Morocco, Angola, South Africa etc.

Also, we supply these data centre dehumidifiers and server room dehumidifiers to India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Srilanka, Maldives and Cyprus.