The ASHRAE TC 9.9 Datacom Series, a series of nine publications, provides a comprehensive treatment of datacom cooling and related subjects. All the books are now available on CD for purchase at the ASHRAE bookstore.

Trends toward increased equipment power density in data and communication (datacom) centers can result in significant thermal design and operation issues, with the potentially undesirable side effects of decreased equipment availability, wasted floor space, and inefficient cooling system operation. This Guide provides equipment manufacturers and facility operations staff with a common set of guidelines for the design and construction of their respective equipment or facility, thereby aiding in maximizing the performance and health of the facility and its contents.

The purpose of this book is to discuss datacom (data center and telecommunication) power trends at the equipment level as well as to describe how to use those trends in making critical decisions on infrastructure (e.g., cooling system) requirements and the overall facility. Included in this book is an overview of various air and liquid cooling system options that may be considered to handle the future loads and an invaluable appendix containing a collection of terms and definitions used by the datacom equipment manufacturers, the facilities operation industry, and the cooling design and construction industry.

This book provides basic information essentials for the design of datacom (data processing and communications) facilities. It covers the topics of design criteria, HVAC loads, cooling systems overview, air distribution and liquid cooling. It will also provides information that is supplemental to basic data center design, which may be of more value to those who already have design and/or operating experience in this field covering additional topics such as ancillary spaces, contamination, acoustics, structural and seismic design, fire suppression, commissioning, availability and redundancy, and energy efficiency.

Data center IT equipment today is predominantly air cooled. However, with rack heat loads steadily climbing, the ability for many data centers to deliver either adequate airflow rates or sufficient chilled air is now being stretched to the limit. The overall goals of the liquid implementations include aspects such as transferring as much waste heat to the facility liquid cooling loop as possible, reducing the overall volume of airflow needed by the racks, and reducing processor temperatures such that increased compute performance can be achieved.

This book discusses datacom equipment as well as a building’s structure and infrastructure in a holistic way while providing best practices for their design and installation. This book is divided into four main sections. Part 1, Introduction, gives an overview of the best practices in the design of datacom equipment centers, including recommendations for new and renovated building structures, building infrastructure, and datacom equipment. Part 2, Building Structure, covers the design of new and existing structures. In Part 3, Building Infrastructure, the structural considerations of the building’s infrastructure, raised-access floor systems, and vibration sources and their control are discussed in detail. The last part of this book, Datacom Equipment, covers shock and vibration testing, seismic anchorage systems and analysis of datacom equipment.

This book covers many aspects of datacom facility energy efficiency, and includes chapters on the topics of environmental criteria, mechanical equipment and systems, economizer cycles, airflow distribution, HVAC controls and energy management, electrical distribution equipment, datacom equipment efficiency, liquid cooling, total cost of ownership, and emerging technologies. There are also appendices on such topics as facility commissioning, operations and maintenance, and the telecom facility experiences.

Data centers and telecommunications rooms that house datacom equipment are becoming increasingly more difficult to adequately cool. This is a result of IT manufacturers increasing datacom performance year after year at the cost of increased heat dissipation. Even though performance has, in general, increased at a more rapid rate than power, the power required and the resulting heat dissipated by the datacom equipment has increased to a level that is putting a strain on data centers. The objective of this book is to provide a series of case studies of high density data centers and a range of ventilation schemes that demonstrate how loads can be cooled using a number of different approaches.

Even though particle contamination resulting from dust and dirt can lead to unexpected shutdowns of critical IT equipment, the connection between contamination and hardware failures is often overlooked. Particulate and Gaseous Contamination in Datacom Environments sheds light on this issue and will provide readers with the information they need to maintain a high level of IT equipment dependability and availability. This book identifies datacom equipment susceptibility and operational impact, as well as strategies for prevention, control, contamination testing, and analysis.

This book is designed to help bridge that gap and provides an overview of how to instrument and monitor key power and cooling subsystems. This book also includes numerous examples of how to use energy consumption data in calculating power usage effectiveness (PUE), along with a practical method that can be used to quantify the PUE for a data center housed in a mixed-use facility. Finally, some coverage is provided for a data center that deploys a combined cooling, heat, and power system. Calculating the PUE for such a data center presents some challenges; this book helps clarify the key issues. This book was coauthored by ASHRAE with The Green Grid's Data Collection and Analysis Work Group.

This book gives data center owners and operators a clear understanding of the energy-saving opportunities that exist. It covers the mechanical and electrical systems of the building and also the most promising opportunities in technology. In addition, the book's organization follows a logical approach that can be used for conducting a preliminary energy assessment. This book is the tenth in a series of datacom books authored by ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9, Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment. This series provides comprehensive treatment of datacom cooling and related subjects.

The Datacom Series CD, 2nd Edition, now includes all nine datacom books and is fully searchable and printable. The CD includes:

• Real-Time Energy Consumption Measurements in Data Centers
• Particulate and Gaseous Contamination in Datacom Environments
• High Density Data Centers - Case Studies and Best Practices, Second Edition
• Best Practices for Datacom Facility Energy Efficiency, Second Edition
• Structural and Vibration Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers
• Liquid Cooling Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers
• Design Considerations for Datacom Equipment Centers, Second Edition
• Datacom Equipment Power Trends and Cooling Applications
• Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments, Second Edition

Visit the ASHRAE Bookstore Now!

A bulk quantity discount for the Datacom Series Products applies to purchases of 10 or more copies of one title or any combination of titles, including the Data Center Design CD, 2nd edition.

Visit the Main ASHRAE Site

Please update your ASHRAE membership info here to ensure you receive TC9.9 notifications including meeting and conference call notices.

TC 9.9 has updated its title to address the committee’s increasing focus on the international community.

The existing terms in TC 9.9’s Title (Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces, and Electronic Equipment) were creating language barriers upon translating them into other languages.

As a result, the words “Data Centers” have been added to the title while keeping existing terms, which continue to define the depth and breadth of the committee focus.

Results of internet search engines further support the notion that the words “data centers” are the most popular means by which topics and organizations, relevant to our industry, are sought out.

This should further increase our exposure and international reach with easier translations and internet searches through our industry’s very own data centers.

TC 9.9 Mission Critical Facilities General Meeting Session 
  Monday   2:15-9:30p  Dallas Ballroom D1 (CC1)

TC 9.9 Program/Handbook/Research Meeting Session
  Sunday   5:00-7:00p  Lone Star Ballroom A1 (CC2)

Dallas 2013 Meeting Agenda

NEW!! IT Equipment Thermal Management and Controls -
This document serves to bridge this gap by describing mainstream power/thermal management and cooling systems within ITE and potential interactions between the IT equipment and the data center.

The October conference call meeting minutes are now available. You can access all of the TC 9.9 minutes and other publications in the Documents section of the site.

The San Antonio TC 9.9 meeting minutes are now available. You can access all of the TC 9.9 minutes and other publications in the Documents section of the site.

The TC 9.9 San Antonio 90.1 Forum notes are now available. You can access all of the TC 9.9 publications in the Documents section of the site.

Due to the overwhelming popularity of the TC 9.9 Thermal Guidelines documents, the previous versions that were removed are available once again for download in our Documents section.  The material contained in the whitepapers will be superseded by the 3^rd edition (2012) when it is released.  Please check back soon!

The previous Thermal Guidelines (Thermal & Liquid Cooling) have been removed due to the anticipated release of the 3rd Edition of the Thermal Guidelines which will be published soon.  Please check back to the site for the latest updates.

TC 9.9 Mission Critical Facilities General Meeting Session 
  Monday   2:15-9:30p  (Hyatt) Texas B (4)

TC 9.9 Program/Handbook/Research Meeting Session
  Sunday   5:00-7:00p  (Hyatt) Lone Star C (2)

Please review the follow documents for the meeting agenda & TC 9.9 sponsored seminars:

San Antonio 2012 Meeting Agenda

TC 9.9 Meetings and Technical Program (Summary)

TC 9.9 is celebrating it's 10^th anniversary! 2012 marks the tenth year that the TC has been in operation and we are happy to celebrate the various accomplishments of so many industry participants who helped make the TC what it is today.  In fact, through these efforts, TC 9.9 is one of the largest technical committees in ASHRAE!  This technical committee was originally formed as the ASHRAE Technical Group, TG9-HDEC, High Density Electronic Equipment Facility Cooling and later became an official committee in 2003. For more history about the origins of TC 9.9 please visit the About page.

The 2^nd Edition of the ASHRAE TC 9.9 Power Trends book is now available!  This edition, created with input from industry IT leaders, extends the power trend estimates to the year 2020.  Get your copy now in the ASHRAE bookstore!

The TC 9.9 phone conference meeting minutes for March 2012 are now available. You can access all of the TC 9.9 minutes and other publications in the Documents section of the site.

The Data Center addenda AP to ASHRAE 90.1 – 2010 edition is now out for public review.  Addenda AP proposes PUE as an alternative compliance path to conformance with Chapter 6 of 90.1, the building energy standard. As noted in the public release, this is a significant issue.

TC 9.9 strongly encourages you to take some time to submit public review comments in support of this industry revolutionizing proposal by clicking here and following the Instructions for Commenter’s.  Login is required using your existing ASHRAE user name and password.  If you don’t have one, you will be able to create it.  Here is the link to the appropriate addendum:

BSR/ASHRAE/IES Addendum AP to ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2010, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings

The Chicago TC 9.9 meeting minutes are now available. You can access all of the TC 9.9 minutes and other publications in the Documents section of the site.

Standard 90.1-2010 Applicability to Datacom - This white paper provides an overview of the portions of ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2010 that pertain to datacom HVAC and presents supplemental resources to better prepare the industry for potential future impacts.

2011 Gaseous and Particulate Contamination Guidelines Whitepaper - This document is primarily targeted towards data centers that may have harmful environments resulting from the ingress of outdoor particulate and/or gaseous contamination.

2011 Thermal Guidelines for Liquid Cooling Whitepaper -
This document describes classes for the temperature ranges of the facility supply of water to liquid cooled IT equipment.

Thermal Guidelines Whitepaper - Expands allowable temperature ranges and provides new environmental metrics to guide the data center industry.

ASHRAE has recently responded to the Facebook letter regarding data center energy. Below is the letter from ASHRAE President, Lynn Bellenger, in which she cites the positive contributions of TC 9.9 in developing the new energy code. Also, below is the original letter from Facebook written to ASHRAE.

Facebook Letter      ASHRAE Response

TC 9.9 is pleased to offer a free download of the white paper titled "Gaseous and Particulate Contamination Guidelines for Data Centers" to all members of the Data Center Community. It is available in three languages: English, Spanish, and Chinese.

Technical Committee 9.9 is concerned with all aspects of Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces, and Electronic Equipment / Systems. This includes data centers, computer rooms/closets, raised floor environments, high density loads, emergency/network operations centers, telecom facilities, communication rooms/closets, and electronic equipment rooms/closets.

If you would like to get involved in this TC's issues at the Society level, read through the pages of this site, attend the biannual meetings, or contact our committee chair at tc0909@ashrae.net.

ASHRAE 2013 Annual Conference
Denver, CO
June 22 - 26, 2013

September 24, 2012
Conference Paper Abstracts, Full Technical Papers and Chair Request for Paper Sessions Due

October 16, 2012
Conference Paper Abstract Accept/Reject Notifications

January 7, 2013
Web Site Opens for Seminar and Forum Proposals

January 14, 2013
Seminar, Forum, TPS and CPS Program Proposals Due (Includes Bio, LO and Q&A)

February 11, 2013
Seminar, Forum TPS and CPS Proposals Due

February 25, 2013
Technical Paper Final Review Due

March 15, 2013
Final Technical Papers Due

March 25, 2013
Conference Papers Accept/Reject Notifications and Notifications of Seminar and Forum Accept/Reject Distributed

May 6, 2013
Upload of PPTs Begin

June 3, 2013
All PPTs Due Online

June 22, 2013
Speaker's Lounge Opens

ASHRAE 2013 Winter Conference
New York, NY
January 18 - 22, 2014

March 15, 2013
Conference Paper Abstracts Due

April 5, 2013
Conference Paper Abstract Accept/Reject Notifications

April 19, 2013
Technical Paper Due for Review

June 1, 2013
Web Site Opens for Seminar, Forum, TPS and CPS Proposals

July 2, 2013
Final Conference Papers Submitted for Review

August 13, 2013
Seminar, Forum, TPS and CPS Program Proposals Due

September 20, 2013
Conference Papers Accept/Reject Notifications and Notifications of Seminar and Forum Accept/Reject Distributed

December 6, 2013
Upload of PPTs Begin

January 3, 2013
All PPTs Due Online

January 18, 2014
Speaker's Lounge Opens