Simple Cabling Steps to Help Airflow in DCs

Overhead telecommunications cabling may improve cooling efficiency and is a best practice where ceiling heights will permit. This can substantially reduce airflow losses due to obstructions and turbulence caused by under floor cabling and cabling pathways. If telecommunications cabling is installed in an under floor space that is also used for cooling, the under floor air obstructions can be reduced by using network and cabling designs that minimize the need for under floor cabling, selecting cables with smaller diameters to minimize the volume of under floor cabling, designing the cabling pathways to minimize adverse impact on under floor airflow, routing cabling in hot aisles rather than cold aisles, designing the cabling layout such that the cabling routes are opposite to the direction of air flow so that at the origin of airflow there is the minimal amount of cabling to impede flow and properly sizing pathways and spaces to accommodate cables with minimal obstruction by using shallower and wider trays.