All data center designs start with a myriad of decisions — what type of cooling system to employ is just one of them. But, it’s a big one because it’s usually where sustainability goals meet budget constraints. So, design engineers usually end up altering their first-pass, ultimate-efficiency specifications in order to make financial sense.
Once data centers become operational, most of the intellectual knowledge about the design disappears — the design and construction teams move on to their next project, and operations teams scramble to get up to speed. In the first year, operations teams need to learn everything about the new equipment and systems plus establish maintenance routines to keep it all running at peak performance. Far too often, they are overwhelmed and preventative maintenance is overlooked, causing performance issues that can lead to equipment failure and, ultimately, downtime.