Data Hall VR Experience:

How the colour of racking & IT Equipment has a direct impact on PUE

Overview

Good lighting quality in a data hall is required for a variety of reasons, but perhaps the most critical reason is to enable technicians to read data displays and legends on equipment in order to make accurate observations and changes. In this Virtual Experience we illustrate some of the advantages of using white racks instead of black racks and the consequences this has on energy consumption within a data hall application

Racking Colour Comparison

Equipment Reflectance	Av. Horizontal Illuminance	Av. Vertical Illuminance	Power per m2	Qty. of Luminaries
4% Black	506 lux 0.6 Uo	232 lux 0.33 Uo	4.31	104

Equipment Reflectance	Av. Horizontal Illuminance	Av. Vertical Illuminance	Power per m2	Qty. of Luminaries
85% White	600 lux 0.45 Uo	418 lux 0.44 Uo	2.70	65

- click icon within virtual experience to change the racking colour.

The colour of your racking & IT equipment has a direct impact on the energy consumption within the data hall environment. By clicking between the black & white racking icon you will see the change in lux levels.

Precise Optical Control

- click icon within virtual experience to change the beam angle

TECTON split lens technology facilitates the use of precise optical control on a common luminaire base throughout the data hall, distributing light exactly where it is required without wasting power illuminating non-critical surfaces.

Summary

In order to overcome the inefficient light reflectance of a black surface, the most common solution is to use more luminaires resulting in a higher connected load, operating costs and CAPEX. Instead, by opting for white racking (or white covers for IT equipment), the energy consumed and the number of luminaires installed within a data hall lighting system can be reduced by up to as much as 37%.

For more detailed information on our lighting study - please view our article here.