The data center industry is expected to experience significant growth in the coming years. Factors driving the need for increased data infrastructure include artificial intelligence, big data analytics, the growth of cloud computing services, and enhanced security against data breaches. As the demand for capacity increases, so does the need for advanced airflow measurement tools. The °C Grate is a purpose-built diagnostic instrument that performs flow capture over a perforated floor tile in a raised floor data center. It is ideal for testing, adjusting, and balancing work.
Better than a flow capture hood, the °C Grate uses a comprehensive array of 16 air velocity and temperature sensors. It does not impart any back pressure to the floor tile under test, averting the errors induced by capture hoods and balometers that restrict flow. The °C Grate gives you rapid and accurate measurements and creates real-time gradient mapping for both air velocity and air temperature. You can see the air stream through a panel and quantify the volumetric flow rate and airflow distribution.
The °C Grate is portable, easy to position, and sized to match a standard 24” x 24” perforated floor tile where multipoint measurement will be performed. Completing a full room-level analysis with a volumetric flow result for every panel is straightforward, and you can trust the °C Grate instrument. It includes a NIST traceable calibration certificate and is endorsed by the Georgia Institute of Technology.
As data center expansion continues, air-cooled systems will stay in use and adapt. The °C Grate flow capture instrument will help you optimize cooling architecture and bring down PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness). When your test results show that a CRAC (Computer Room Air Conditioner) unit can be put on standby, your return on investment will be realized within just months.
PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) is the data center metric for energy efficiency. It is defined as the ratio of the total annual energy to run a data center facility to the total annual energy drawn by all IT equipment. From Energy Star ‘s August 2024 “U.S. Energy Use Intensity by Property Type”, data center average PUE is 1.82. The U.S. Department of Energy’s NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) notes that “data centers focusing on efficiency typically achieve PUE values of 1.2 or less”.