White is the new black for data center cabinets

By: Ravi Raj, Brand Head, Director Sales & Support, NetRack

White cabinets save money by reducing energy consumption while making it easier for IT staff to operate the equipment in data center

Is white the new black for the data center? This is making a lot of buzz in the market presently. Modern businesses are opting for emerging and disruptive technologies, and server rack manufacturers are allying side by side to present the latest offerings for the new technologies that are making way in the data centers.

The sudden rise of the white data center is no hype, but reflects the various advantages it can serve to the enterprises. Organizations always look forward to saving on their IT infrastructure, even a minor deduction can add big bucks to a company’s revenue in the long term. White cabinets help companies in reduced lighting energy, better working conditions in the data center, and a more attractive appearance.

Energy Efficiency
IT managers are always concerned about the energy usage in the data centers. White data centers can be helpful in saving a few bucks for your company. The scientific fact that the dark colors are better absorbers of light and therefore better radiators of heat, whereas white color is more of the reflecting nature and can be proved efficient with sending back up to 80% of light. Overall, companies can save up to 30% on lighting costs with the white cabinets that translate into total data center energy savings of 1.5% to 3%.

Increased Visibility
Another major advantage is the significant increase in visibility inside your data center. With lighter colored cabinets, it becomes much brighter and easier to see within the space, requiring less lighting. The reflecting nature of white color proves handy here as it makes easier to see and detect equipment inside a cabinet. With dark cabinets, IT staff often wind up using flashlights or headlamps so they can see what they’re doing. Furthermore, dark colors also radiate more heat and this doesn’t exactly help meet the objective of keeping equipment cool.

Ease of Installation for other Equipment
With the increased visibility means companies need not spend that much on proper lighting solutions. White cabinets allow their IT operations team to give a clearer view of the equipment installed in the cabinets when racking and stacking, troubleshooting, and other tasks. This can also come handy while managing the servers, switches and PDUs accompanied by ceiling, fans and panels which can further improve energy efficiency, visibility and productivity.

Fresh Look for your Data Center
White cabinet offers a new fresh look to your data center and helps to set the company apart from the millions of data centers using black cabinets. The other advantage is that the white cabinets blend better with their surroundings and help in creating a more harmonious visual experience inside the data center.

Black has enjoyed the scrutiny of being the standard color of data center racks for years, but it seems that this can’t be an ideal choice for always. Every kilowatt and cost savings matters in the data center environment and just by changing the color of your cabinets, you could save money and witness a significant difference in the lighting requirements of your data center. The bright appeal is the right appeal.