HUMIDITY CONTROL IN DATA CENTERS

by Samta Bajaj

PREFACE
Data center and IT facilities have always supported entire organizations and ongoing operations. Post covid there has been
drastic impact on way we conduct businesses. Hybrid work schedules, remote employees, short staffing and completely
unmanned facilities are becoming quite common. In such scenario just one percent of down time can cause loss of
productivity and going out of business.
given temperature. As air gets warmer, its volume increases
and therefore relative humidity decreases, but the actual
moisture or the absolute humidity stays the same. The
difficulty in the context of data centers is that these facilities
deal with both warm air and cool air. The cool air flows into a
server inlet and is heated and ejected as warm exhaust. The
water content of this air didn’t change during this process,
but the relative humidity of the exhaust will be lower than that
of the cool air at the inlet. The advantage of monitoring
absolute humidity is that the inlet and outlet conditions at the
server are same and thus a sensor can be placed just at the
server inlet without the need to worry about getting a humidity
measurement at the outlet as well. The absolute humidity of
a data center, as measured in grams of water per grams of
Humidity control has been critical in data centers since the
dry air, should be kept between 0.006 and 0.011.
early days of data center construction. However for a
longtime it was believed that humidity control follows a Use Dew Point Control
special need of IT equipment and thus data center humidity
The control strategy should always be to control
was controlled to a very narrow range.
temperature and humidity to the nearest limit of the
However research and experience has shown that IT recommended range. For example, if the upper end of the
equipment can actually withstand much wider humidity recommended range is 59 °F DP, dehumidify to 59 °F DP
range than previously thought. (less a degree or two for good measure). If the lower end
of the recommended range is 16 °F DP, humidify to 16 °F DP
Effects of Humidity on Data Center Hardware: (plus a degree or two). Allow a wide dead-band range of 16
Humidity must be controlled to ensure continued °F DP to 59 °F DP, meaning that neither energy nor water is
functionality in the data center. If the air in the data center is consumed for humidity control while the room dew point is
too humid, water may condense on the internal within that dead band.
components, resulting in shorts. If the air is too dry, a data
As noted above, dew point is uniform throughout the data
center risks electrostatic discharge which can also result in
center when there is no addition or removal of moisture from
electrical shorts. A static charge is when similar charges
the space. This is the case regardless of where the
build up in a substance and do not immediately become
temperature and humidity sensors are placed, provided they
neutralized with opposite charges. If the potential of a
both sense the same air stream. Since the thermal
charged area becomes high, a powerful discharge occurs
envelope’s humidity range is specified in terms of dew point,
which may cause damage to the equipment by wiping out
it makes sense to measure AND control to room dew point.
the memory, cause electrical shocks and create fire
Dew point sensors are expensive and difficult to calibrate.
hazards. ESD is easily generated and less easily dissipated
Most dew point measurements are actually taken using a
in areas when the relative humidity drops below 35%.
combination of temperature and RH sensors, which are
inexpensive, and the controller paired with the sensor
Relative Humidity or Absolute Humidity
calculates the dew point from the temperature and the
Traditionally for comfort applications, the room humidity is
measured relative humidity.
monitored in terms of relative humidity (RH) and is specified
as 55 ± 5%. But for data centers, the dew point or absolute What are ASHRAE recommended Temperature &
humidity is considered the preferred and more realistic
Humidity range ?
measure.
Temperature:- ASHRAE (American Society of Heating,
Why? Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers recommend
Absolute humidity is a measure of the amount of water in the an acceptable operating temperature range of 18° to 27° C
air independent of temperature while the RH expressed as a (65° to 80° F). For environments with low levels of both
percentage measures the amount of water in the air at a copper and silver corrosion, the recommended temperature
range is between 18° and 21° C (64 to 69.8 °F)
Humidity:- ASHRAE recommend an acceptable relative How data centers are humidified?
humidity range of 20 to 80%. However in environment with
high levels of both copper and silver corrosion, ASHRAE
1. Modes of Humidification.
states that the upper moisture Level should be kept below Multiple types of humidifiers were used to put moisture into
60% RH, possibly lower than 50%. the room air. These were typically steam boilers, infrared
heaters, or electronic steam generators. Though these
ASHRAE in collaboration with IT equipment manufacturers devices may be good at producing steam, they are energy
have expanded their recommended and allowable intensive. They even put additional load on air-conditioning
envelopes for inlet air entering IT equipment which allows
greater flexibility in facility operations and reducing overall 2. Simultaneous Dehumidification and Humidification As
power consumption .For Class 1 & 2 datacenters, the computer room air conditioning units (CRACs) were
expanded and allowable expanded envelope is shown in controlled to relatively low supply air temperatures, it was
Fig. 1. The latest thermal guidelines have facilitated not uncommon for a CRAC unit to dehumidify the room air
transformation of data centers to more moderate while at the same time a different CRAC unit could be in
temperatures that are recommended and allowed for humidification mode.
optimal operation and lifespan of servers thus also
accomplishing energy savings.
Current Humidification Issues
Better Understanding of “Thermal Envelope”
Humidity Ratio (Ibn H2O per Ibs dry air)

Thermal envelope, as used in the data center context, refers

to ranges of temperature and humidity. There is a relatively
tight range that is considered to be the “recommended
range.”
The industry also accepts a wider range of conditions, the
“allowable range,” which refers to an acceptable amount of
humidity level drift, on a temporary basis, through which IT
equipment will continue to function.
Dry Bulb Temperature (F)
ASHRAE Class 1 and Class 2 Computing Environment, Recommended
ASHRAE Class 1 Computing Environment, Allowable
New Applications of Adiabatic Humidification
ASHRAE Class 2 Computing Environment, Allowable
New technologies have been developed to provide
Fig. 1 ASHRAE Environmental envelope for humidification without significant use of energy. The three
IT Equipment Air Intake Conditions
main technologies are used.
Data center equpments environmental conditions should fall
within the ranges established by ASHRAE as published in a) Wetted media
the thermal guidelines as under and in Table-I : This technology uses water to percolate through a special
media that allows air to pass through it while also
Equipment Recommended Allowable dispersing water along a very large surface area using
Intake capillary action like a sponge ( Fig. 2a). This is a passive
technique consuming very little energy consumed in fan and
59° - 90° F (AI) a small pump which are not significant factors in a data
Temperature 65° - 80° F
41° - 113° F (A4) center energy consumption.
11°F DP and 8 % RH to
16-59° F DP 63°F DP and 80% RH (A 1)
b) Ultrasonic
Humidity (RH) 11°F DP and 8 % RH to
and 60% RH 75°F DP and 90% RH ( A4) Ultrasonic humidifiers use high frequency sound to breakup

Table 1 2015 Thermal Guideline: Equipment Environment Specification for Air Cooling
Product Operation b,e Product PowerOff e,d
Dry-Bulb Maximum Dew Maximum Maximum Rate of Dry-Bulb Relative
Temperature,e.g Humidity Range, Point,k Elevation,e,j,m Change,f Temperature, Humadity,k
Class a o
F Noncondensingh,i,k,i o
F ft o
F o
F %

Recommended (suitable for all classes: explore data center metrics in ASHRAE [2016] for conditions outside this range)
A1 to A4 64.4 to 80.6 15.8 to 59oF dp and 60% rh
Allowable
A1 59 to 89.6 10.4oF dp and 8% rh to 62.6oF 62.6 10,000 9/36 41 to 113 8 to 80
dp and 80% rh
A2 50 to 95 10.4oF dp and 8% rh to 69.8oF 69.8 10,000 9/36 41 to 113 8 to 80
dp and 80% rh
A3 41 to 104 10.4oF dp and 8% rh to 75.2oF 75.2 10,000 9/36 41 to 113 8 to 80
dp and 85% rh
A4 41 to 113 10.4oF dp and 8% rh to 75.2oF 75.2 10,000 9/36 41 to 1135 8 to 80
dp and 90% rh
B 8% to 82.4oF dp and 80% rh 82.4
41 to 95 10,000 N/A 41 to 113 8 to 80
C 41 to 104 8% to 82.4oF dp and 80% rh 82.4 10,000 N/A 41 to 113 8 to 80
Note: For potentially greater energy savings, refer to Appendix C of ASHRAE (2015a) for the process needed to account for multiple
server metrics that impact overal total cos of ownership (TCO)

Table-I ASHRAE Thermal Guidelines ( Extract: Chapter 20 ASHRAE APPLICATIONS, 2019)

 water into fine particles which quickly evaporate into the air
stream( Fig. 2b). The energy associated with ultrasonic
humidifier is small as compared to traditional
boilers.Advantage of ultrasonic humidifies over wetted
humidifies is that ultrasonic humidifiers can be modulated to
deliver exact amount of moisture required while also
responding to loads quickly.
However one disadvantage is that they require ultrapure,
demineralized water for the reason to prevent possibility of
dissolved minerals from being dissipated in space or data
center equipment. Secondly DM water leaves no scale in
humidification equipment which increases the life of
equipment.

c) Spray or Misting System

Spray system pumps water at high pressure through small
nozzles which introduce atomized water particles into an
airstream ( Fig. 2c).These systems are cost effective when
large quantities of moisture are needed in data center.
A. Wetted media humidifier
However in today’s data centers large quantities of
moisture is not required which gets clear as below.

Whether Humidification is even needed?

The newer lower limit of recommended range is a value
which was reached by consensus by the IT equipment
manufacturers. There was an agreement that IT equipment
will not be damaged by continuous operation at this lower
humidity range. It is also supported by research funded by
ASHRAE that no significant increases in ESD or equipment
failure at these lower humidity values

Benefits of a wider humidity range

Allowing the wide range of room dew point has multiple
benefits. The wide dead band allows the humidification and
dehumidification systems to remain mostly OFF. The wider
the dead band, the more hours of the year that water and
energy can be conserved.

C. Spray type Humidifier The wasteful feature of conventional systems is that the
humidification and dehumidification equipment are
oversized. When equipment is oversized, the room
response is quick—the targeted room condition may be
overshot, meaning that the system must switch from
humidification to dehumidification in a short time,
sometimes even performing both operations
simultaneously. Other times, the equipment may simply
switch on and off frequently, short cycling the equipment
and providing poor control. Having a narrow dead band, or
worse, not having a dead band at all, assures that the
unnecessary use of energy and water continues. When a
data center is cooled by CRAC or CRAH systems, and each
unit is independently controlled with humidification and
dehumidification enabled, often some units are humidifying
while others are dehumidifying. This situation is a variant of
simultaneous heating and cooling, wasting both energy and
water and decreasing the power and cooling systems’
ability to meet IT loads.

B. Ultrasonic humidifier
Summary
The important concern is that there is no value using water
to over humidify beyond what would be considered a best
practice. Likewise there is no value in using more water than
needed to overcool data center to lower temperature than www.vion.co.in
industry recommends as appropriate.
The industry now recognizes that by allowing a wider range
of RH, and given proper controls, a great deal of energy
and water can be saved while maintaining acceptable IT
performance
North India's Leading and Most Trusted
Designers should rely on excursion into the allowable range
Design & Build Solution Provider for VRF
of thermal envelope to reduce the size of mechanical
equipment and amount of energy and water consumed at based Central AC Systems of Ultra Premium
site.
& Economical Brands.
References
1. Humidity control in datacenters – Center of Expertise; Specialized in Conventional VRF | Simultaneous Heating & Cooling
Berkley Lab VRF | Geo-Thermal VRF | Water Cooled VRF | I Based VRF
2. HVAC Cooling Systems of data centers-By A Bhatia
3. National Institute of Sustainable Data center Design No. 1 Top
Guide Service Brands
Provider We Deal
4. ASHRAE ( The American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating and air Conditioning Engineers ), Thermal
Guidelines for data center Environments.
Most 24/7
5. Data Centers and Telecommunication Facilities ; Trusted Solution Technical
Chapter 20 ; ASHRAE Applications 2019. provider Support

Our Experience
Vion Infraservices LLP is Subject Matter Experts in
delivering Design & Build VRF system for :-
Mega Townships | Retail Outlets | Ultra Luxury Apartments
& Villas | Hospitals | Educational Institutions |Clean Room
SAMTA BAJAJ Founder and
Principal Consultant: “Envirocon
& Factories |Offices, Fitouts |Restaurants & Hotels Airports
Engineering Founder and | Clubs & Gymnasiums | Key Accounts & Franchises.
Principal Consultant: “Envirocon Vion truly believes in Greener Tomorrow and we promote
Engineering Services”, MEP Ductless VRF System, Geo Thermal and Water cooled VRF
design Consultancy Firm for plug and play central Airconditioning with fast track
execution. Our prompt service is our key to success.
B. E ( Mechanical): “Delhi College
of Engineering”; E-SMP: “IIM We believe, adherence to commitment is the key to have
Ahmedabad” Zonal Woman Chair stronger relationships with clients, brands and end users.
& CWC Member: “ISHRAE Delhi” Chapter
32 Years Experience in HVAC Industry out of which 11
years with Blue star Limited and thereafter as
independent consultant with (Hospitals, Commercial,
Residential, Airports, Hotels, Multiplexes, Shopping
Malls, Pharma-ceuticals, Clean rooms, Industrial &
Process Applications, Smoke Management Systems,
Green buildings and IAQ Upgradation etc.) Worked with
all leading developers of India viz. DLF, Max Healthcare,
Airtel, Bharti Realty, HSCC, RITES, Ansals, M2K, Emmar Reach us
Right
MGF, Omaxe, Krisumi, IREO, M3M, DSIDC, AAI, CPWD
etc.
Worked with all leading developers of India viz. DLF,
Max Healthcare, Airtel, Bharti Realty, HSCC, RITES,
away...
Ansals, M2K, Emmar MGF, Omaxe, Krisumi, IREO, +91 97170 17366 Connect@vion.co.in www.vion.co.in
M3M, DSIDC, AAI, CPWD etc.
Contact Details : M-9818007611 / Email: enviro-
con23@gmail.com / website: www. envirocon-engg.in