Air Conditioning

In parallel with power problems, the BSL has faced cooling problems in room 237 in the past year. As with power, the growth of the computing systems in the past year has led to an increased heat load. This came to a crisis during the fall of 2002, with peak temperatures in the computer room exceeded 85$^{\circ}$when the AC unit failed. After consideration of several options, the BSL decided to add an additional AC unit to room 237. The new unit (which is not supported by UPS/generator power) has helped keep systems running, although the BSL held a summit with PPCS staff in February 2004 to review ongoing cooling problems. As a result, PPCC worked with the contractor to install a larger impeller on the chilled water circulation pump. This has increaseed the cooling capacity of our dry cooler on the roof. In addition, PPCS has been coming by more regularly to inspect the filters on the unit.