The data center industry is seeing a lot of emphasis on airflow management (AFM) solutions as a way to improve reliability, reduce operating costs, and increase cooling capacity. It is well known that installing grommets to seal cable openings in the raised floor and blanking panels in cabinets are best practices for eliminating hot spots and prerequisites for the efficient operation of any computer room cooling configuration. However, this fundamental step is often overlooked or unfinished before sites begin installing AFM solutions such as hot or cold aisle containment.

Despite the multitude of AFM and containment solutions available today, data centers, on average, still have nearly four times the capacity they need. Therefore, the full potential benefits of these best practices remain largely unrecognized.

The misconception is that managing the openings of a raised floor, or even installing full containment solutions, will eliminate bypass airflow. The truth is that while these solutions solve intake air temperature problems, and may reduce operating costs of IT cooling fans, the volume of bypass airflow in the room remains unchanged. Detecting and correcting this room-level issue lies in a broader understanding of bypass airflow.

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Reducing Room-Level Bypass Airflow Creates Opportunities to Improve Cooling Capacity and Operating Costs