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Thanks for such a cool (pun intended) answer to what was a just a
little bit of a tongue in cheek question.

Reading your answer, I have another question:

The figure you quote of 3413 BTU per input KW - is this dependent on
anything else ?

What I am really wondering is: is there any difference between intel
vs power architectures - does one generate more heat than another ? Or
are the differences in heat really about the multitude of boxes that
tend to accumulate round Windows/intel applications ?

If I ran an 8 way dell server with all my windows applications
virtualised would it run hotter or colder than an 8 way power box all
other things being equal ? Assume for instance that they are both
using the same IBM SAN for storage.

Thanks for taking the time with the previous answer .

On Thu, Mar 10, 2011 at 3:03 AM, DrFranken <midrange@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
OK I wrote a certification question on the ratio between input power and
output heat and got booed off the stage. SO I will simply tell you the
answer. For each KW of input power (1000 Watts) you will get 3413 BTU of
heat output. Now since a teeny tiny little bit of that 1000 watts went
into creating LED light (a VERY teeny bit) and some into noise generated
by the fans you might get a measly 3410 BTU of heat.  Point is that it's
a straight line relationship between input power and output heat.  It's
fairly common for HVAC guys who know there stuff to ask what the total
power input to the data center is, what the percentage load on the UPS
is, and use that number as a basis for calculating cooling requirements.
If you put 100KVA IN you will need to get 341,300 BTU out somehow.

Now how much electricity it takes to remove those BTUs can vary A LOT.
In very cold climates, outdoor air can be drawn through filters to cool
the place (devices called 'economizers') and that's cheap. In hot
climates very large amounts of A/C are used to cool such rooms and that
cost can rival the power of the systems being cooled.  In the FrankenLab
from about October through March 100% of the heat generated is turned
into domestic hot water and then heat for the house.  In the summer it
ends up in the swimming pool or down a dry well. Very economical indeed.

    - Larry 'DrFranken' Bolhuis



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