There are several different types of air conditioning systems available in the market today. Each has its appropriate uses. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of the main types:

Central Plant

Advantages – When the plant is away from the occupied spaces, there is very little noise. The entire system is controlled from one central location. This allows the system to start and stop on a timer, usually set to work hours. Maintenance is also easier as there are central locations for each area that requires servicing.

Disadvantages – The biggest drawback is the cost, as plant systems are expensive. Also, space is required for the ducting, plant room, and control room. There is no real control at room level, except to use louvers and control the air flow into the room.

Fan coil units

Advantages – The primary advantage is that fan coil units are cheaper to install than central plant systems. Another advantage, unlike the central plant, is individual room-level control over the temperature. Fan coils do not require extensive ducting and can heat and cool.

Disadvantages – There can be noise from the indoor fan component especially during speed changes. Also, each unit needs maintenance and it has to be on-site. Since it is a pipe based system, long runs of pipes are needed. Heating requires a boiler and cooling requires a chiller.

Industrial air conditioning is a must have especially when you are working with quite a lot of computers and hardware. As a matter of fact, some mainframes and servers that require a great deal of cooling would sometimes even require a portable air conditioner as well so it would not overheat. It is a given fact that businesses thrive and survive on computers. And it is the responsibility of every employer or management team to make sure that these machines function correctly and properly as well. These machines produce a great deal of heat, and if you do not provide them with enough cooling, you are definitely going to have a great deal of trouble as they overheat quickly. You see, mainframes and servers may have their own cooling systems, but these simply will not suffice especially when you have them working twenty four hours a day and seven days a week as well. You need to have these machines stored in a cool place so they can function as efficiently and properly as well for extended periods of time. After all, a higher electric bill would be a reasonable trade off rather than having to suffer a machine breakdown in your servers. This can cause huge problems especially when you are heavily dependent on your mainframes and computers for your business. Also, you need to make sure that you follow what your IT personnel recommends as far as cooling needs are concerned. So if the say that your machines need to be kept at a constant temperature, you need to make sure that this is followed.

Portable ac units are quite affordable nowadays. If you need extra cooling requirements, this is definitely what you need.

At first blush, one would think that “what’s the relation between IT and air conditioners? Does this mean that IT guys feel uncomfortable and sweat just like the rest of us when it gets warm?” Well of course, they’re every bit as human as we all are. But if you take a second and think, you’ll realize that computers, terminals, and all the equipment these guys run consume a whole lot of power – and when we talk about large power consumption, that means an equally large amount of heat generation too. Computers love the cold, and that’s because these machines function a whole lot better if it’s temperatures are maintained at a certain level. Computers that get too hot can malfunction or totally break down. Circuits and chips inside these things can warp, or even burn up if it isn’t cooled properly. That’s why IT equipment need spot cooling as well as dehumidification to ensure that these machines operate at constant temperatures so they don’t get damaged and worn out too quickly. What this means is that properly cooled IT equipment would require less maintenance due to unexpected failures, malfunctions, or breakdowns. That translates to less dollars spent on repairs and overhead, and more dollars focused on your core business. Perhaps, the most important thing you should take from this is the fact that poorly-cooled IT equipment such as servers and mainframes can malfunction and break down much sooner than its supposed to. So don’t scrimp on cooling units for your IT department!

IT maintenance is not just about making sure your computer’s software is up to date and it doesn’t also just mean making sure everything is plugged in and plugged in right. Also, IT it is certainly not just turning thing off and on again. There’s a lot of technical know how needed in IT maintenance but one major part of it is cooling. We all know computers run at certain temperatures and as they keep working they start getting hotter. It is key to make sure that computers and servers are kept at cool optimum temperatures because not only does this mean they won’t break down, but also means they will work more efficient and faster. But how does one do that? It’s not all about making sure your computer has a lot of built-in fans, sometimes a little outside interference is needed.

The computer room air conditioner is something that stays on all the time and works particularly hard. The A/C unit in the computer room has to work to make sure the room is kept cold to the point when we feel that it’s to cold all while combatting the heat emitted by the computers and servers. For this application, industrial air conditioning might be needed. An A/C unit that is built ougher and stronger may be the right thing for your computer room. Given its more powerful components, industrial air conditioning will keep the room cold using less effort, saving power, electricity, and money.