Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Don Y Newsgroups: sci.electronics.design Subject: Re: Ambient temperature control Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2024 08:21:44 -0700 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 42 Message-ID: References: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Injection-Date: Tue, 02 Jul 2024 17:21:50 +0200 (CEST) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="35233dfdb4787151339fcd4c4ae8b7cc"; logging-data="1784095"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1/vRMFEa93GW3toagqkKsI2" User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; Win64; x64; rv:102.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/102.2.2 Cancel-Lock: sha1:xrUGgoSqrk4t4AyQ4wrAAUOixzI= Content-Language: en-US In-Reply-To: Bytes: 2961 On 7/2/2024 7:33 AM, legg wrote: >> [Gotta wonder why data centers in northern latitudes don't >> exploit outside air more agressively during the winter >> months!] > > What are the HVAC costs in data processing and server facilities? > > That's just to maintain ambient <40C. But datacenters have big heat *generating* loads that they are trying to offset. So, you would expect to have sufficient cooling (and the costs thereof) to remove that "added" load. Imagine setting a device out in the desert. Or, *in* the passenger compartment of a parked car. Or, in an uninsulated attic. The device's dissipation isn't a significant factor in the ambient temperature that it experiences -- the "ambient volume" around it is sufficiently large that it doesn't add to the problem. Adding a *fan* (in the device) won't do squat to improve the situation. If you're just trying to control the temperature of a component, you have different options than if you are trying to control the ambient temperature that a "device" experiences. If you're trying to ensure the ambient for the device is such that it "encourages" reliability, then you have a different problem. Think of the environment your KWHr meter experiences; the builder chose its location -- likely without any concern over sun exposure, etc. In the 60's, one could state that you needed a particular environment to operate a particular device (e.g., "a computer room" for the computer). Nowadays, your device has to tolerate the environment (e.g., factory floor -- even in factories that have few "organic" occupants that could bias the ambient towards a more comfortable level). *Or*, modify the "local" environment to a degree that lets it achieve its performance/longevity goals.