So I finished (for the most part) my garage data center. Under normal conditions (up to say outside temps of up to 90 degrees), things in the DC stay at or below 90 degrees. I'm not a fan of that temp, but the equipement doesn't seem to mind it. But we are looking at mid to upper 90's later this week and it will only be getting hotter. I have a single portable A/C unit right now, so will a second portable A/C just magically fix the problem, or should I do something else?
Summer Is Coming...and its getting hot
- Thread starter briandm81
- Start date
Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.
Google: Raise Your Data Center Temperature | Data Center Knowledge
Too Hot for Humans, But Google Servers Keep Humming | Data Center Knowledge
I've had servers running for years in a tiny room with 90+ temps with no issues. Few years ago I was mining some cryptos and the hardware was running at 100% capacity non stop. The only failures that I had observed were consumer SFF drives, they did not like the high temps.
Too Hot for Humans, But Google Servers Keep Humming | Data Center Knowledge
I've had servers running for years in a tiny room with 90+ temps with no issues. Few years ago I was mining some cryptos and the hardware was running at 100% capacity non stop. The only failures that I had observed were consumer SFF drives, they did not like the high temps.
Yeah - my wife calls our cellar the hell mouth - its only a semi cellar so not really cool. Moving to a a/c server rack I managed to get quite cheaply soon. Add another 200W+ consumer 
Re OP: Depends totally on the AC unit you get and your garage ... heat dissipation rate, exhaust options, garage insulation... If the sun heats the garage up already then insulation might be more beneficial than additional cooling
Best way to manage heat is to stop producing it o/c, so have you considered that end?
A couple of hundred bucks in upgrades might save money in the long run if you have to run a/c for it
Re OP: Depends totally on the AC unit you get and your garage ... heat dissipation rate, exhaust options, garage insulation... If the sun heats the garage up already then insulation might be more beneficial than additional cooling
Best way to manage heat is to stop producing it o/c, so have you considered that end?
A couple of hundred bucks in upgrades might save money in the long run if you have to run a/c for it
Last edited:
I have an update! It seems as though my A/C unit was actually going bad. I went out there and it was up to 100 degrees! Eek! The A/C was blowing super hot air. I turned it off and the temps went down to around 88, not awful. I was able to get a replacement today for $300 on CL with a dual hose configuration. The room is now a crisp 75 degrees and falling. We'll see how it does tomorrow when its 90 again, but its looking pretty good so far.
This is making me rethink that $8k proposal to insulate and cool my garage with a mini split a/c. One of the reasons the quote is so expensive is that the a/c company wants to run a 220 in conduit from the panel to the garage, which are located on opposite sides of the house. I already have two dedicated 20/115 circuits in the garage - I could blow insulation into the space above the garage and use a portable unit to spot cool the server rack. Could probably do it in a weekend and for under $1500, with the most expensive component being the cooler.
@CreoleLakerFan that's scary expensive for little work to be honest. Even if they trench for 1 day for conduit (~$1.5k) and the wire cost ~1k$ (unlikely for only a mini-split) and conduit cost ~$300 and distance I'm estimating and insulation $1500 and what 2 days labor for 1 person @30hr (high) $600 still seems like $8k is just completely out of this world expensive for that. All high estimates unless you're having the electrician do all of it and they're billing out at much higher rates, which is likely. You might want to try to find a handy man who charges $30/hr to do your trench, conduit, and pulling of the cables and then only electrician for hookups (that's my plan except I'm doing the handy-man stuff).
It took me two days to trench 170' and install the conduit and I had about 3hrs 'wasted' chipping through rocks in my path, and this was for 2" conduit as well as 2 more 1" conduit all at 170', 2 brought up into my network room and 1 to the power. I spent a crap load more than expected on conduit because of incorrect measurement by utility and me blindly trusting them as well as deciding last minute to throw in 1 more 1" "just in case".
With that said I'd urge you to put in 1 or 2 more conduit so you can run fiber, audio, etc in future or have spares ready to go
Be sure to be in a radiant barrier too if you can, it will add a chunk to the cost but should keep the cool in and hot out too.
It took me two days to trench 170' and install the conduit and I had about 3hrs 'wasted' chipping through rocks in my path, and this was for 2" conduit as well as 2 more 1" conduit all at 170', 2 brought up into my network room and 1 to the power. I spent a crap load more than expected on conduit because of incorrect measurement by utility and me blindly trusting them as well as deciding last minute to throw in 1 more 1" "just in case".
With that said I'd urge you to put in 1 or 2 more conduit so you can run fiber, audio, etc in future or have spares ready to go
Be sure to be in a radiant barrier too if you can, it will add a chunk to the cost but should keep the cool in and hot out too.
The $8k was the cost for the whole project, including a mini split a/c and heater which would cool/heat the entire garage (about 600+ sq ft). They were estimating $1500 for the electrical work, $5500 for the mini-split, and the rest would have gone to the labor for cutting a trap-door in the attic over the garage and blowing insulation in.
In hindsight, I'm glad they gave me such an obnoxious quote, because if it had been $5k I probably would have just had them do it.
I had the builder put in conduit and pull strings from every wall plate back to my wiring closet upstairs. I've got four Cat5e connections from the panel to the garage, but if I ever need fiber I'll just pull out the copper and run fiber through.It took me two days to trench 170' and install the conduit and I had about 3hrs 'wasted' chipping through rocks in my path, and this was for 2" conduit as well as 2 more 1" conduit all at 170', 2 brought up into my network room and 1 to the power. I spent a crap load more than expected on conduit because of incorrect measurement by utility and me blindly trusting them as well as deciding last minute to throw in 1 more 1" "just in case".
With that said I'd urge you to put in 1 or 2 more conduit so you can run fiber, audio, etc in future or have spares ready to go
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check into that.