When thinking about the data centers, most people are inclined to think about cooling giant HVAC systems, airflow management and complex cooling strategies aimed at safeguarding heat sensitive servers. However, in the complex system of a data center, the role of heating is critical and far more significant than one could think.

Under certain circumstances, the heaters are essential to ensure optimal performance, prevent hardware damage, and maintain environmental stability. 

Data Center Heating Introduction

Data center houses thousands of servers, cables, cooling units, power supplies and storage systems that perform at their optimal levels within their tightly regulated environmental ranges.

During most of the year or in warmer locations, the focus is on keeping the facility cool, but there are specific scenarios like colder areas or during downtime where heaters are needed in order to protect equipment and ensure operational readiness.

This blog will tell why heaters are used in data centers, types of them that are widely used, how they are installed and maintained and the best practices to follow for efficient heating operations.

Why Heaters are needed in Data Centres?

On the surface, the concept of heating a place with numerous machines that generate heat themselves may appear as contradicting. Nevertheless, the use of heaters by data centers has a number of compelling reasons:

1. Condensation Prevention

Condensation is one of the greatest dangers in a data center. By lowering temperatures below the dew point,  specially during power shutdown or extreme drops in external temperatures, moisture may condense upon sensitive electronic components. These condensations may result in short circuits, corrosion, and in some cases of permanent damages. Heaters are used to maintain humidity levels by keeping temperatures above critical thresholds.

2. Temperature Uniformity

Uneven temperatures within a data center room may generate hot spots and cold spots, resulting in hardware stress. In some cases, they use heater to remove these cold zones in order to ensure even heat distribution across all racks and equipment. This does not just extend the life of a hardware but also enhances performances and energy efficiency the system.

3. Climate Adaptability

 Data centers that operate in colder regions or high altitude areas often meet sub-zero external temperatures. These extreme conditions may seep into the structure and affect internal temperatures. Supplemental heating ensures that backup batteries, cables, and servers stay within their ideal operating range, even when the cooling systems are turned off or sit on idle models.

4. Startup Readiness

Heaters make the environment warm and safe to start the servers when bringing systems back online after maintenance or power outage. This is very important to prevent problems such as thermal shock or sudden hardware failure.

Types of Heaters Used in Data Centers

Modern data centers rely on a variety of heater types depending on their needs, the size of the data center, and geographical area.

These three types of heating that are most commonly used and these include:

Circulation Heaters

Circulation heaters are used to heat fluids such as water or oil which are then circulated throughout the facility or specific components. They are perfect in applications where there is consistent thermal regulation required.

They have been particularly useful in data centers that use a liquid cooling system where the fluid must remain within required temperature range to prevent it causing any damages to delicate parts or components.

The circulation heater has a compact design and an inbuilt thermostat that allow precise temperature control. They are often integrated into backup or standby system to maintain temperature in cases where the main HVAC is offline.

In-Line Heaters

In-line heater are similar to circulation heaters but are directly installed into fluid flow lines. The fluid flowing in the pipe is heated to some desired temperature by the in-line heater.

This particularly helps when handling processes that require constant flow and immediate exchange of heat.

Data centers frequently use in-line heaters when using closed-loop liquid cooling systems where the coolant is maintained at the ideal temperature and preventing it from becoming too cold or the temperature dropping too low during periods of low activity.

Skid Systems and Controls

Skid-mounted heating systems are pre-engineered packages which includes heaters, control panel, pumps, valves and piping delivered as a plug and play solution.

Such systems are frequently used in big and large scaled data centres that need customized and automated heating solutions.

This is an effective and scalable method of integrating heating into the overall thermal management system.

The control panels of such skid systems can be integrated into the Building Management System (BMS) of the facility, allowing for centralized temperature control and monitoring in real time.

Heaters Installation and Maintenance Considerations

Data centers require proper installation and constant maintenance of heaters to ensure safety, reliability as well as energy efficiency. There are quite a few factors that need to be considered:

1. Strategic Placement

The installation of heater must be made in the areas where there are the most severe risks of condensation or cooling, that is at the corners of the room, near to the external walls, around cooling systems, and in battery rooms or network cabinets. Careful placement ensures prevention of hotspots or cold zones and even distribution across..

2. HVAC Systems Integration

Heaters are not supposed to operate in isolation. They must be integrated with HVAC systems and environmental sensors in order to avoid counterproductive cycles of heating and cooling. Smart automation enables use of heating only when there is an extreme necessity.

3. Compliance and Safety Standards

Heating systems of data centers must comply with industry-standard such as ANSI, ASHRAE, and NFPA. This includes fire protection, proper insulation and emergency shutoff systems. Safety when using electricity is also paramount, more so when dealing with high powered heating elements.

4. Routine Maintenance

Just like any other component inside a data center, heaters require regular inspection. Inefficiencies or risks are caused by dust accumulations, corrosion or component failures. Routine cleaning, system diagnostics and replacement of parts helps in maintaning system performance and prevent breakdowns.

Best Practices for Data Centers Heating

Heating systems in data centres must be designed and managed with precision to make heating effective without interfering with the way of cooling strategies, here are some of the best practices in the industry:

1. Use Heaters as a Supplement, Not a Primary System

Heaters should only supplement your thermal management system. The primary requirement to majority of data centers is going to be cooling with minimal heating used only when needed to address temperature anomalies or environment risks.

2. Installations of Humidity Sensors

Given that the prevention of condensation is one of the key objectives of heaters, it is of primary importance to pair heating systems with accurate humidity and dew point sensors. These sensors can trigger heating only when the definite limits are met, ensuring efficient use of energy.

3. Leverage Smart Automation

Connect your heating systems to the BMS of the data centers to unable the automatic response on the basis of real time data. AI and machine learning-based platforms can also help predict environmental shifts and proactively adjust heating and cooling parameters.

Energy Efficiency considerations

Elect power saving heating elements which have low stand by consumption and high conversion efficiency. Consider renewable,energy powered heaters where possible,especially in regions where heating is intense.

5. Redundancy and Backup Systems

 Just like cooling systems, heaters need to have backup units to ensure fail-safe operation. Mission-critical applications mean redundancy is mandatory in situations where the environment stability cannot be compromised.

Conclusion

In data center design, heating may not be a primary concern but it plays a vital role, particularly in cold weather conditions and during power cycles. They also provide protection against condensation, assure that the temperature of a given fluid has been maintained at an optimal level, and ensure critical systems remain within very tight environmental parameters, ultimately protecting valuable infrastructure and ensuring continuity of operations.

Modern data centers use circulation heaters, in-line units and skid systems for efficient and scalable heating, integrated with automatic control and constant maintenance. Given their increasing complexity and unpredictable weather, data centers require to achieve much needed stability by balancing heating and cooling for their long term success.

Unlock efficiency and productivity with Wattco’s heating solutions. Meet your environmental and economic goals with our expertise. Our customized products cater to your specific needs. Contact us to get started and transform your operations!