Case Study: Environmental Monitoring as the Silent Guardian of Data Center Uptime

Summary

Data centers are the nerve centers of today’s digital infrastructure, powering everything from artificial intelligence and financial transactions to cloud-based applications. These facilities house mission-critical IT equipment—servers, storage devices, networking hardware—that must remain operational 24/7. Any interruption or equipment failure can lead to substantial financial loss, reputational damage or even legal consequences.

While power and cybersecurity often take center stage in data center design, environmental factors such as temperature and humidity are equally crucial. Improper climate conditions can result in hardware failures, decreased equipment life and inefficient energy use. Consequently, environmental monitoring should be considered a foundational element of any data center management strategy.

Why environmental conditions matter

Overheating: The silent threat
Servers and related hardware generate significant heat during operation. If not properly cooled, internal temperatures can exceed safe operating thresholds, causing hardware to malfunction or shut down entirely. Even momentary overheating can lead to data loss or corruption.

Humidity hazards

• High humidity can result in condensation, which poses a risk of short circuits and corrosion
• Low humidity increases the potential for electrostatic discharge (ESD), which can damage sensitive electronic components

Energy efficiency
Overcooling data centers to avoid overheating can drive up energy consumption and operational costs. A more sustainable approach requires precise monitoring to maintain conditions within optimal ranges.

Non-compliance
Uptime SLAs (Service Level Agreement) and industry standards depend on documented, verifiable environmental control.

Recommended environmental ranges
Organizations like ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) provide guidance for safe operating environments in data centers:

Maintaining these ranges minimizes the risk of equipment failure and supports efficient energy usage.

Best practices for monitoring temperature and humidity

1. Ideal sensor placement in data centers
Proper sensor placement is critical for accurate environmental monitoring. Ideal locations include:

• Rack inlets and outlets: Capture air intake/exhaust conditions
• Cold and hot aisles: Ensure effective airflow distribution
• Underfloor air plenums: Monitor cooling delivery effectiveness
• Ceiling ducts: Track return air trends
• UPS and battery rooms: Monitor for humidity-driven condensation risk

2. Types of monitoring systems

• Spot monitoring: Fixed sensors provide point-specific data
• Zone monitoring: Monitors environmental conditions across designated areas
• Mobile monitoring: Portable sensors or devices used for temporary diagnostics

3. Integration with DCIM Systems
Modern Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) platforms rely on real-time sensor data to optimize environmental control and energy efficiency. Sensors should offer industry standard and outputs and open communication protocols compatible with most SCADA, PLC, or other control systems, such as 4-20mA, HART, or Modbus.

Key benefits of real-time environmental monitoring

• Prevent downtime: Early detection of temperature or humidity deviations allows for quick corrective actions
• Extend equipment lifespan: Operating within optimal ranges reduces thermal stress and corrosion
• Improve energy efficiency: Enables fine-tuned HVAC control to avoid overcooling
• Support compliance: Meets industry standards and contractual service-level agreements

How to continuously monitor temperature and humidity

One way to continuously monitor temperature and humidity is by installing the HTZ from Moore Industries. The HTZ is a compact, loop-powered device that measures both temperature and humidity with accuracy and long-term repeatably. Originally engineered to meet the precision and reliability demands of semiconductor fabrication rooms, the HTZ’s ease of programming and installation also makes it an ideal solution for data centers where uptime is critical.

Case study: A large-scale data center project

Scenario:
A large-scale data center project is underway to support high-density computer servers operating 24/7. To ensure maximum equipment reliability and system uptime, the facility design includes a comprehensive environmental control strategy. Maintaining the correct balance of temperature and humidity is essential for protecting servers and minimizing risks associated with overheating, electrostatic discharge or condensation.
The data center is outfitted with numerous monitoring points to track air conditions in cold aisles, hot aisles, above and below server racks, and HVAC supply and return ducts. These measurement points help maintain ideal air quality and cooling system efficiency in critical operational zones.

Challenge:
In high-availability data center environments, precision environmental control is nonnegotiable. Server rooms must maintain relative humidity between 40% and 60% for the following reasons:

• If humidity falls below 40%, static electricity can build up, potentially causing electrostatic discharge (ESD) and equipment damage.
• If humidity rises above 60%, condensation can form on sensitive electronics, leading to corrosion, short circuits, or catastrophic failure.

Given the need for continuous operation and the risk of even minor deviations, the environmental monitoring system needs to be highly accurate, scalable, reliable, and easily deployed throughout the buildings.
 
Solution:
The Moore Industries HTZ Humidity and Temperature Transmitter. Designed for industrial-grade environments, the HTZ delivers:

• Accurate and stable relative humidity and temperature measurements
• 4-20mA analog output with HART® communication
• Compact and rugged construction for versatile installation
• Low maintenance and long-term reliability

Each data center is equipped with approximately 150 measurement points, strategically placed in:

• Cold aisles: monitoring the cooled intake air delivered to servers
• Hot aisles: measuring exhaust air to verify thermal output
• Above and below server racks: ensuring environmental uniformity in sensitive equipment zones
• HVAC supply and return ducts: validating the performance of air handling systems

This sensor placement ensures complete environmental visibility and supports rapid detection of anomalies.

Benefits:
The use of the HTZ has enabled the data center to:

• Maintain stable humidity levels within the recommended 40–60% range
• Reduce risk of electrostatic discharge and condensation-related equipment damage
• Reduction of downtime and maintenance issues, with an industrial-grade designed humidity and temperature transmitter
• Ensure 24/7 uptime with high-resolution environmental data for continuous optimization
• Support facility-wide redundancy, with dense sensor coverage across all critical airflow zones

Conclusion
By leveraging the Moore Industries HTZ temperature and humidity transmitters, these data centers ensure robust environmental monitoring across mission-critical zones. The HTZ’s proven performance and adaptability make it an ideal choice for high-availability IT infrastructures, supporting long-term uptime, efficiency and reduce operational costs.