If you have a data center, then you know just how much heat your servers and related equipment can generate – and keeping your equipment cool is a must. If your machines overheat they won’t perform well, which could lead to increased maintenance costs. And the more pieces you have, the hotter your space will get. Keeping them all cool means a lot of energy is expended on air conditioning. The roof you choose for your data center can help control and even reduce your energy costs.
Why your Data Center Roof Matters
Your roof is primarily intended to keep your equipment dry. Leaks and the potentially resulting interior moisture, humidity and mold can spell disaster for your sensitive gear. But a roof can be both watertight and highly reflective, to help mitigate high interior temperatures that can become a factor as summertime days get warmer and the sun becomes more intense.
A lot of factors go into how hot your roof can get: the material it’s made from, its color, and the hours of direct sunshine your data center roof gets during the day will impact the temperature of your facility and how hard your HVAC systems have to work.
On a hot day, the surface of a black roof can be 70 degrees hotter than the air temperature, compared with only 20 degrees hotter for a cool roof. If a building has rooftop HVAC units, they’ll have to work a lot harder to cool the superheated air that’s hovering on a dark roof – even after the sun goes down, because a dark roof retains heat.
However, a reflective, white, “cool” roof can reduce the cost of operating rooftop HVAC units because the units will take in cooler air than if they’re installed on a dark roof surface. Plus, cool commercial roofs tend to release heat rather than retain it – so your HVAC system doesn’t have to work as long during the day.
Another option for keeping your rooftop cool is to plant tall trees for shade, but that could take years to provide any real cooling benefit. Plus, trees mean more debris falling on your roof and can even make your facility more accessible to pests.
At Royalty, we’re not data center experts, but we are roofing experts that specialize in cool roof systems that can provide worry-free protection from the elements and help ease the cooling burden on your facility. We’d welcome the opportunity to discuss your needs with you.