Building resilience: Managing moisture and IAQ in critical infrastructure

Critical infrastructure, like data centers and server rooms, are the backbone of modern industries, requiring meticulous planning and execution during construction. Moisture control and climate management rank high on the list of priorities for ensuring the resilience of these facilities. Let's explore how temporary climate control and environmental monitoring during construction play a crucial role in their success.

Recognizing the risks

Mission-critical facilities house sensitive equipment and systems vulnerable to moisture-related damage and environmental fluctuations. Threats like excessive humidity, temperature extremes, and airborne contaminants can potentially lead to condensation, equipment failures, downtime, and compromised data integrity Proactively monitoring and managing conditions before hardware is installed is essential to mitigating risk.

Implementing comprehensive solutions at the start

During the construction phase, proactive measures can be put in place to manage environmental conditions and reduce risk effectively:

1. Temporary Climate Control: Materials like concrete, drywall, and paint can introduce moisture to the environment. Implementing temporary HVAC systems, dehumidifiers, and air movers helps regulate indoor conditions during construction, facilitating faster drying of materials and minimizing the risk of moisture-related issues like mold and condensation.
   
   
2. Continuous Monitoring and Real-time Alerts: Tracking temperature and humidity levels and indoor air quality parameters, such as particulate levels (dust) provide valuable insights into environmental conditions, allowing for timely interventions to maintain optimal conditions for materials drying and equipment installation.
   
   
   
   
3. Advanced digital solutions and emerging technologies: Automation and intelligence can be added to temporary climate equipment or in-house HVAC systems so they can be turned on/off based on real-time data. Thresholds can be set for Temperature, humidity, IAQ, CO2, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) levels to trigger cooling, dehumidification, filtration, and ventilation before issues arise. This can protect hardware from damage and degradation while safeguarding the health and well-being of workers and occupants faster and more efficiently than manual disparate systems and processes.
4. Quality Assurance: Regular inspections and quality assurance protocols ensure that moisture control and climate management measures are implemented correctly and consistently, reducing the likelihood of future issues. Continuous, accessible, and speedy information on conditions is crucial to addressing problems before they affect operations.

The importance of data center commissioning 

Verifying and documenting environmental conditions is particularly critical at commissioning. Access to historical trends and evidence of current conditions helps teams prove proper measures were taken and the building meets specifications.

Commissioning data centers can take several months and includes many phases including installation of sensitive equipment, testing, training, and acceptance. 

Temperature, humidity, and IAQ levels must be held throughout the process. And if there are issues, stakeholders will want to know all details immediately to mitigate any risks. This vigilance is carried over into hand-off and operational stages where stakeholders will benefit from the same kind of visibility and control to manage and maintain the building and its contents.

Conclusion

Data centers and mission-critical environments cannot depend on fragmented data points and manual adjustments to maintain indoor air quality and climate conditions. For true speed and autonomy, stakeholders need access to continuous, real-time data and the ability to respond rapidly and reliably to changing conditions.

Polygon Climate Control’s ExactAire system provides real-time data and climate control for mission-critical environments like data centers. Our sensors collect data on temperature, humidity, IAQ parameters, and even water leaks. Data is stored and transmitted to a centralized gateway and then to a user interface for visualization and instant alerts. The same data can be used to automate climate control equipment like dehumidifiers, chillers, filtration, and ventilation units. This reduces reliance on staff to manage equipment and avoids unnecessary fuel consumption to achieve optimal conditions.

Contact us to speak with one of our teammates about how smart climate control and remote monitoring can help your data center project.