The 'Cool' Blog

To protect business-critical equipment from data storage problems or system crashes, it is essential to ensure that the temperature in server rooms or data centres stays within certain limits. With many housing large amounts of equipment, the heat generated can potentially cause computers and networking equipment to fail as they are designed to work within a fairly narrow temperature range.     What temperature is right? Air conditioning should be considered crucial for any server room.   Technology experts recommend a server room temperature of between 18ºC to 27ºC and not less than 10°C or above 28°C.   Relative humidity should be between 45-50% to stop damaging static electricity building up.   Even a few degrees too hot can blow a server chip or cause permanent damage to hard drives.   The cost of a serious server failure can be considerable – not only the cost of replacement, but lost online business, lost customer details, wasted staff t...

For many UK businesses the cost of running air conditioning may seem high, but there can be hidden costs of not providing air conditioning or adequate heating in the workplace.   The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 state that ‘During working hours, the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall be reasonable.’    London Cool also receives many enquiries from businesses needing to keep their server or computer rooms   cool to protect valuable data and systems. Thermal discomfort caused by workplace temperature on can have an impact on health and safety, with more accidents being reported, all of which have an associated cost.   Many employees are not able to adapt their clothing because   they wear a specific uniform or PPE .   Wearing too much clothing or PPE may be a primary cause of heat stress but if clothing does not provide enough insulation, then there is a risk of cold injuries such as frostbite or hy...

The British heatwave could well be over and we will see a return to ‘normal’ summer temperatures.   As the temperatures drop, it might be thought that there is no longer a need for portable air conditioning , but on bright sunny days the inside of buildings will still heat up due to solar heat gain, especially in the city centres.   Although the sunlight may not be as strong, the lower angle of the sun means that it is shining into buildings for longer periods during daylight hours.   Buildings that have fully-glazed facades are particularly prone to over-heating caused by solar gain.     C ities with a number of high rise, glass fronted buildings, such as London and Birmingham, are often 1–3°C warmer than rural locations.   To counter this effect, some buildings have solar control glass installed which reflects heat and reduces glare from the sun’s rays.   As well as being practical, it’s also a requirement under Approved Documents L1A and L2S ,...

The first air conditioning systems were in use as early as 1902, but they were not for the comfort of people! According to Tim Hartford of the BBC World Service [1] , Sackett & Wilhelms Lithographing and Printing Company in New York found that varying humidity levels affected the quality of their printing.   The paper had to be printed up to four times in four colours and changing humidity made the paper expand or contract slightly, misaligning the print.   The company approached a heating company, Buffalo Forge, to devise a system to control the humidity.   Engineer Wills Carrier invented the first modern type of air conditioning in which air circulated over coils chilled by compressed ammonia which kept the humidity at a constant 55%. Carrier’s invention soon proved popular in industries where excessive humidity was a problem – such as flour mills and the Gillette Corporation, where excessive moisture would cause the razor blades to rust. The benefi...

Our new Trainee Business Developer, Ivo, has been telling us about his first week with us and his first trip (one of many he will be making) into London as he accompanied one of London Cool’s colleagues on his deliveries around the capital.   ‘We were pleasantly surprised to find that the traffic in West London was relatively light and we arrived by Marylebone Station in good time. We were delivering an Avalanche   portable split type air conditioner unit   to a prominent firm of   architects as they needed additional cooling in their server room. Unloading one of these powerful units was a lot easier than I anticipated, although the condensers are very heavy. Carrying it looks easier than it is too. After checking that the customer was happy with our setting up of the air conditioning unit, we made our way to London EC4.   An online food company needed portable cooling   equipment in their offices as their fixed air conditioning needed urgent...