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#16
07-21-2005, 11:44 AM
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Even having a redundant system isn't always the Geico solution..
Equipment rooms just generate a lot of heat. It's the norm nowdays to have a system like fordborn described. You set up multiple A/C units to cycle. The thermostat controllers can be programmed for pretty much whatever timeframe you want, (hour/day/week). Also, if one unit does not meet the cooling needs for some reason, another unit will automatically come on to help. 3 - 5 ton units are common, so that if one unit goes out, it can be swapped out quickly with a minimum of equipment and manpower, (like Ken experienced, 7 ton units are huge - logistically just not feasible in an emergency situation. You can throw a 3 ton unit in a pickup, not wait a few weeks for shipping and big crane rental, ect).
In theory this works great. Real world: Certain times of the year the humidity and temp. are just right to make one unit frost up, (there's also a 24Vac transformer that's a common problem). Soon as the temp rises from a malfunction, another unit comes on and then it frosts up. This starts a domino effect that usually doesn't cause any red lights to go off until someone like Ken see's there's a problem. By then it's too late. At a remote site it's hard to justify having someone there for something that might happen every couple years.
An alarm system helps, but when the A/C goes out in one of these places, the temp rises fast and the damage is done before anyone shows up. A solution is to have an emegency ventilation system, but the filtering needed for a semi cleanroom environment really brings the cost up for the average non-government customer. Plus, it's a hard sell to a site owner that has an engineered HVAC system in place that works most of the time.
What usually happens is the customer installs their own mini cooling systems, (like Ken did). Now when there's a problem it won't show up til the room temp is 150 degrees... Ever try to cool a room like that with the heat on and no windows? If the heat goes off, Ken gets no sleep.
This kind of stuff happens and you just have to deal with it
Equipment rooms just generate a lot of heat. It's the norm nowdays to have a system like fordborn described. You set up multiple A/C units to cycle. The thermostat controllers can be programmed for pretty much whatever timeframe you want, (hour/day/week). Also, if one unit does not meet the cooling needs for some reason, another unit will automatically come on to help. 3 - 5 ton units are common, so that if one unit goes out, it can be swapped out quickly with a minimum of equipment and manpower, (like Ken experienced, 7 ton units are huge - logistically just not feasible in an emergency situation. You can throw a 3 ton unit in a pickup, not wait a few weeks for shipping and big crane rental, ect).
In theory this works great. Real world: Certain times of the year the humidity and temp. are just right to make one unit frost up, (there's also a 24Vac transformer that's a common problem). Soon as the temp rises from a malfunction, another unit comes on and then it frosts up. This starts a domino effect that usually doesn't cause any red lights to go off until someone like Ken see's there's a problem. By then it's too late. At a remote site it's hard to justify having someone there for something that might happen every couple years.
An alarm system helps, but when the A/C goes out in one of these places, the temp rises fast and the damage is done before anyone shows up. A solution is to have an emegency ventilation system, but the filtering needed for a semi cleanroom environment really brings the cost up for the average non-government customer. Plus, it's a hard sell to a site owner that has an engineered HVAC system in place that works most of the time.
What usually happens is the customer installs their own mini cooling systems, (like Ken did). Now when there's a problem it won't show up til the room temp is 150 degrees...
Ever try to cool a room like that with the heat on and no windows? If the heat goes off, Ken gets no sleep.This kind of stuff happens and you just have to deal with it
#17
07-23-2005, 04:28 PM
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