Server rooms: why keeping them cool is critical

24th October 2025

Without the right design and cooling, the heart of your IT operations could breakdown.

Almost all businesses will use servers, in one way or another. True, many are moving to a cloud model that negates the need for physical servers, but even those need to be hosted somewhere physically.

Some companies will have their servers onsite, maybe even having their own server room. Most will use a server managed remotely by a provider, saving the need for onsite management. Regardless, these servers need to be kept cool – why is it so vital?

Servers, switches and other connected hardware can generate significant heat during operation. If you’ve ever put your hand near a laptop or PC after it has been used for a while you can see this – machines run hot!

Overheating can lead to poorer performance, as well as hardware wearing down and needing to be replaced faster, leading to more costs. Systems can shutdown if there are thermal protections in place, which can lead to data loss or corruption and components can fail due to heat damage – in extreme cases, fires can even start!

So, how are server rooms kept cool, avoiding these issues?

·         Environmental monitoring: sensors are used to track temperature and humidity, adjusting as needed to keep devices cool.

·         Air conditioning: precision cooling systems are designed for data centres, but they basically work in the same way as standard air conditioning would.

·         Hot aisle/cold aisle containment: physical barriers to separate hot and cold airflows, keeping everything at the right temperature.

·         Raised floors and ceiling vents: this helps to improve airflow and cable management.

·         Long design: both servers and their rooms tend to be long and thin, providing the widest surface area for cooling, as well as making it easy to scale the number of servers while maintaining cooling.

·         Regular maintenance: cleaning filters, checking airflow and inspecting cooling units.

·         New techniques: there are also new methods, including using liquid coolant on components, submerging hardware in thermally conductive fluids and AI driven climate controls that adjust based on real-time data.

Evidently, keeping servers cool is essential for businesses: there are a lot of measures in place designed to maintain temperatures and avoid disaster. Obviously, there is a cost that comes with this, both literally, as these processes require energy that is costly, as well as environmentally. This is why many are moving to cloud, as these spaces are still required, but at a reduced rate – could a cloud solution be preferable to you?

For more information on server maintenance or cloud computing, please contact Interfuture Systems today.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/rhiZfn5NbfM