Dew Point and its Role in the Data Center Environment?

So dew point, what’s the point and how does this play a part in the data center? What you could be saying is, please dew tell.

Conventional thinking might dictate the cooler the room the better.  That’s as old as your grandfather’s cardigan.  Everyone has seen what happens on a car roof at dusk or with a cold glass of Mountain Dew on a hot summer day.  Water droplets forming on the glass as it cools the immediate surrounding air below the moisture content of the dry bulb air temperature, otherwise known as dew point.  Forcing cold air onto a metallic surface can produce the same results with lower temperatures and higher relative humidity levels.

Fortunately many network and server manufacturers operate well above ASHRAE standards of 81°F so data centers can maintain droplet free surfaces while providing a more comfortable working environment for technicians called out at 3am.  Much a dew about nothing?


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