Server room power and cooling calculator
How much power and cooling does your server room or network cabinet need? Enter the device list, UPS and distribution losses, growth margin and cooling unit capacity; see the electrical load, heat load, redundancy status, density per rack and airflow. If you enter PUE and a unit price it also works out the annual energy cost.
Results
- Total electrical load
- 6.62 kW
- 5.8 kW IT + 0.52 kW losses + 0.3 kW other
- Heat load (to be cooled)
- 6.62 kW
- IT + losses + other loads
- Heat load, BTU/h
- 22,595 BTU/h
- Cooling tons
- 1.88 tons
- Design heat load with growth margin
- 7.95 kW
- With 20% growth margin: 27,114 BTU/h · 2.26 tons · design electrical load 7.95 kW
- Total apparent power
- 6,032 VA
- 8 devices have no VA data; they were counted as W (power factor 1) in the total VA.
- Units needed (N)
- 1
- 7.95 kW ÷ 8 kW = 1 unit(s) (rounded up)
- Total units with spares
- 2
- N+1 = 2 unit(s)
- Cooling redundancy
- N+1
- Redundant and sufficient: with 1 unit(s) failed, capacity is 8 kW, required 7.95 kW
- IT load per rack
- 2.9 kW
- 3.48 kW/rack with growth margin
- Airflow (estimate)
- 1,268 CFM
- 2,155 m³/h · 0.6 m³/s · ΔT 11 °C (19.8 °F)
- Total facility power
- 9.28 kW
- IT 5.8 kW × PUE 1.6; non-IT share 3.48 kW
- Annual energy
- 81,293 kWh
- 8,760 hours
- Annual energy cost
- TRY 406,464
- 81,293 kWh × TRY 5.00
Device breakdown
| Device | Qty | Total W | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Server | 8 | 3,600 | 62.1 % |
| Storage array | 2 | 1,600 | 27.6 % |
| Switch | 4 | 600 | 10.3 % |
Calculation and assumptions
- IT load (W) = Σ device W × qty. Losses = IT load × (UPS % + distribution %) / 100; that is, losses are entered as a percentage of the IT load. Total electrical = IT + losses + lighting/other.
- Heat load = IT + lighting/other (+ losses, if the box is ticked). BTU/h = W × 3.412142. Cooling tons = BTU/h / 12000.
- Design value = value × (1 + growth %). N = ⌈required kW / unit kW⌉; N+x = N + spares. Failure check: (installed units − spares) × unit kW ≥ required kW.
- Airflow: CFM ≈ 3.16 × W / ΔT(°F) (sensible heat, standard air, sea level; 3.16 ≈ 3.412142 / 1.08). 1 CFM = 1.699 m³/h; a °C difference × 1.8 = a °F difference. W is the heat load with growth margin. Rack density = IT kW / number of racks.
- Facility power = IT kW × PUE. Annual kWh = facility kW × annual hours (constant load). Cost = kWh × unit price.
The values you enter are processed in your browser; they are not sent to a server and not stored.
This is a preliminary sizing: it assumes constant device power, that all the heat goes into the room, and standard air properties. Altitude, humidity (latent heat), air management, containment and the real load variation of the devices affect the result; the mechanical and electrical design must be done by a qualified engineer. For cooling capacity, rely on the manufacturer's data for your operating conditions.
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How to use
A
Write the device list as name;W;qty (optionally with VA and power factor); enter UPS and distribution losses, lighting/other load and the growth margin from your own data.
B
If you wish, add cooling unit capacity and count, number of racks, ΔT, PUE and the electricity unit price; optional fields you leave empty are skipped.
C
See the electrical and heat load (kW, BTU/h, tons), redundancy status, rack density, airflow and annual energy cost; copy the result.
02
The relation between electrical load and heat load
Almost all the electrical power IT devices draw in a server room turns into heat, so 1 W of electricity means roughly 1 W of heat load. Converting heat load to BTU/h (1 W = 3.412142 BTU/h) and cooling tons (1 ton = 12000 BTU/h) makes it easier to compare with cooling equipment catalogues.
UPS and distribution losses turn into heat as well; but if the UPS is in a separate room, that heat stays there. That is why the tool asks whether to add the losses to the room's heat load. The total electrical load shows the power to be drawn from the grid or generator.
03
How to read redundancy (N+1)
N is the number of units needed to cover the heat load; N+1 means one more unit so that the load is still covered if a unit fails or is taken out for maintenance. The tool subtracts the number of spares from your installed units and checks whether the remaining capacity covers the required capacity.
Enter the manufacturer's sensible cooling capacity at your operating conditions as the unit capacity; nominal ratings are usually for different conditions. The growth margin is added to the design value, so headroom is left for equipment you add tomorrow.
04
Why airflow and rack density matter
To remove the same heat, the less the air temperature rises, the more air is needed. The relation CFM ≈ 3.16 × W / ΔT(°F) estimates the airflow required for sensible heat in standard air; compare it with the airflow values in the device documents. If the airflow falls short, hot spots and recirculating hot air can occur.
kW per rack shows the limit of the rack's power distribution and cooling design. At high density, solutions such as aisle containment, in-row cooling or liquid cooling may be needed; enter the limit from the documentation of your rack and cooling system.
FAQ
- Is my input sent anywhere?
- No. The calculation runs in code in your browser; values are not sent to any server and are not stored.
- Should I enter the nameplate value as the device power?
- If possible enter the measured or manufacturer-typical draw. The nameplate maximum is often above the real draw and makes the cooling look larger than needed; for the safe side you can still run a scenario with the maximum value.
- Why can electrical load and heat load differ?
- The IT load and losses turn into heat; but if the UPS is in a separate room, its loss does not enter this room's heat load. The electrical consumption of the cooling units themselves is also not counted in this tool.
- What does N+1 mean?
- It means adding one spare unit to the number of units needed to cover the load (N). When a unit fails or is taken out for maintenance, the remaining units must still cover the load. For N+2, enter 2 in the spare units field.
- Where do I find the PUE value?
- PUE is the ratio of total facility energy to IT energy; it is best found by measurement. Without measurement, estimate it from the facility design or data from similar facilities and remember the result depends on it. The 1.6 on the page is only an example.
- Where should I enter the electricity price?
- Enter the unit price per kWh from your own tariff (whether it includes taxes and fees is your decision) in the currency you choose. The tool contains no tariff or exchange rate; the annual cost is calculated as if the load were constant.
Are your server room's power and cooling at the limit?
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