Reducing Data Centre Energy Consumption With High Speed Insulated Doors
Data centre owners are under a lot of pressure to control energy costs and meet sustainability targets, with cooling taking a large share of total power draw. Every time a door between a server hall, plant room or corridor opens, conditioned air escapes and warm air leaks in. This results in the HVAC system needing to work harder to recover.
Operators often focus on racks, chillers and airflow management but the doorway is an area to consider for energy consumption savings. EFAFLEX designs, supplies, installs and maintains high speed insulated doors built to reduce air infiltration through speed, insulation and configuration.
Faster Cycle Times Reduce Open Door Time
Every additional second a door is open lengthens the window for air exchange between conditioned and unconditioned data centre zones. EFAFLEX's Next Generation spiral doors:
- Open at speeds of up to 4 metres per second - among the fastest vertically opening doors on the market
- Rated for up to 500,000 operating cycles per year - suits frequent movement of trolleys, equipment & personnel in server halls
Door openings can account for around 10% of a building's total heat load, therefore the energy savings can be significant for newer, more efficient door installations.
Insulation Values To Cut Thermal Transfer
To lower the heat transfer through a closed door leaf, the door also needs sufficient insulating properties. The EFA-SST® Therm, offers a U-value of up to 1.4 W/m²K, giving low thermal transmittance compared with a standard sectional or roller shutter door. We have a range of doors with low U-values, depending on your unique site requirements.
Airlock & Vestibule Configurations Prevent Air Exchange
For the tightest control, speed and insulation can be combined with a two door configuration in data centres. EFAFLEX's cleanroom range, such as the EFA-SRT® CR Premium, is designed for:
- An airtight seal - ISO Class 5
- GMP compliant airlocks - interlocked doors create a buffer zone to stop uncontrolled air movement between 2 zones
The same set up can be applied at hot/cold aisle containment points or server room entrances so that conditioned air doesn’t have a direct route to the corridor or outside.
Inertia Doors For Low Traffic Airtight Doorways
Not every doorway needs spiral door speed levels. EFAFLEX's Inertia doors target almost hermetic conditions rather than speed to achieve air permeability class 5. Two Inertia doors can be interlocked to form an airlock with pressure control, which is a sensible option for secondary or lower traffic doorways, such as backup media stores, where limiting air and dust exchange matters more than speed. The Inertia doors also protect valuable servers and electronic equipment from fire with their oxygen reduction system.
Speak To Us About Your Data Centre Doors
Reducing air exchange at the doorway is one of the more straightforward ways to ease the load on a data centre's cooling system. If you would like to find out how faster, better insulated doors or an airlock configuration could help at your site, get in touch with our specialist team for a site assessment.
