Efficiency initiatives to raise data centre temperatures leave less room for error

RAISING the temperature at data centres could help generate energy cost savings. But analysts warned it could leave operators with less room for error.

“If we start allowing hardware to operate at an elevated temperature…and let’s say, there were some issues in your cooling facilities, that also means that now you have a very low margin for error,” said National University of Singapore (NUS) Associate Professor Lee Poh Seng.

Industry watchers added that operators need to be wary about raising temperatures as changing workloads in data centres could generate more heat.