Calculating Your Power Requirements

The following graph contains simple arithmetic calculations based on known information and relationships between watts per square foot and the HVAC cooling equipment that will help you determine how much power you'll need to effectively run your data center.

Reading the Graph
This graph outlines "sensible" tons of air based on wattages per square foot for electronic equipment (including aisle space). Sensible tons are "net" tons of air produced by an HVAC system. (For example, a 15 ton Computer Room Unit (CRU) may produce only 11 tons of sensible air). Note that the calculations below do not include lights, shell load, UPS loss and HVAC Equipment itself. However, it is quite satisfactory for electrical and mechanical program requirements. NOW FOR SOME KNOWN VALUES 1 watt = 3.41 BTUs 12,000 BTUs = 1 Ton of Sensible Air
 

Note that as watts/sq.ft. and sensible tons of air go up, the square feet per ton of air goes down. This means more space for environmental systems and less available for business equipment.



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