Peenie Wallie: Environment Control in the Personal Data Center

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May 12, 2008

Environment Control in the Personal Data Center

I have a wired/wireless Gigabit network in my house that connects 6 personal computers. Here in the Rocky Mountains, the air is very dry. So dry, in fact, that it's unhealthy for humans to breathe and not so good on computers either.

Low levels of humidity can contribute to respiratory infections, allergic and asthmatic symptoms and an increase in airborne dust and allergens. As the chart demonstrates, there is a recommended humidity range of 40% to 60% that is optimal for indoor air quality. If the humidity level is too low, Bacteria, Viruses, Respiratory Infections and Allergic Asthma will increase. If the humidity level is too high, Dust Mites and Fungi/Mold will proliferate and Allergic Asthma will also increase.

After losing a video card to electrostatic discharge recently, I decided to get more serious about controlling the temperature and relative humidity in my my personal data center. I ordered a digital hygrometer/thermometer and mounted it on the wall. It showed the room to be 72° F, with a relative humidity of 29%.

The recommended ambient temperature range for a computer room is 68° to 75°F . So, the temperature seems fine. But the recommended ambient relative humidity range is between 45% and 55%. So, this is pretty much what I expected to find.

I drug my humidifier into the computer room, positioned it on the floor under one of the desks, and filled it with water. In theory, the water shouldn't be a hazard as all computers are positioned on elevated desks to mitigate hard drive bearing degradation due to dust particles.

I set the humidifier on "High" and closed the office door. Now, I feel like Michael Jackson in his hyperbaric chamber. I think I'll go buy some giraffes.

Update: To get the humidity right, I had to close the door to the computer room so that the humidity wouldn't flow out into the rest of the house. And, 8 hours later, I've got the humidity right where i want it. It's hovering around 49%. Perfect.

However, since I closed the door, and I have all these computers running in here (4 at the moment), the ambient room temperature has risen from 72°F to 78°F, and it's snowing outside. So, now I've got to figure out how to lower the room temperature in the computer room. I'll start by turning off some of the computers, but this seems somehow like a less than optimal solution.

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