Handling In-Row Cooling Sales Objections: Mature Data Centers Get Big Benefits From Phased Approach

By Himanshu Patel, APC by Schneider Electric

In-row cooling can be a highly efficient cooling approach for multiple reasons, but there is one common objection that sometimes gets in the way of its adoption. That common barrier is that data center managers sometimes believe existing facilities can’t be reconfigured for in-row cooling.

“The number one roadblock we run into with in-row cooling solutions is that data center operators say, ‘we just can’t split up our current server deployment to reconfigure for in-row cooling,” said Jesse Cefalu, a cooling business development specialist with Schneider Electric. “They think, ‘we just can’t do a shut down of all our systems to rearrange our racks and put the cooling units in.’”

The problem with this thinking, said Cefalu, is that in-row cooling doesn’t have to be a big bang deployment. It can be phased in at mature data centers, often by planning each phase to coincide with other changes, such as plans for new servers or cabinets. “We can take a phased approach, and help them plan for that,” he said.

Ironically, it’s often existing, older data centers with perimeter cooling that would benefit from in-row cooling the most, said Cefalu. Perimeter cooling installations that use raised floors to supply cool air sometimes grow inefficient over time as more racks, servers, or cooling units are installed, and wiring or piping underneath the raised floor is added without proper attention to good air flow.

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