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I se most questions about server room temperaturen is "how much do i need to COOL down the temperature.

But this questions is about how low temperature can servers work in? My servers will be in a room where the temperature can go down to -15 to -20c in the winter and will that require heating of the room or is it fine for servers?

Mr Zach
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The recommended temperature range for your servers is not too wide, usually it's wider for humans :) So yes, the -15 degree in Celsius is probably too low, but to be sure, you have to ask the manufacturer or the reseller of your machines.

Once an air-conditioner's heating part went wrong, and for few days nobody noticed it, another few days passed until they fixed the problem, and nothing wrong happen, but if you use your servers regularly in low temperature you will have problems.

Another factor is air humidity. The water condensing on cold parts of the machines, and causes short circuits or other damages.

And almost forgot another important thing: the temperature changing can cause more damage then a constantly low or high level of it. So you have to use some temperature and humidity control, or buy much more expensive servers.

n3ko
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  • Thank you for your answer, but humidity is a problem when the servers are colder than then room temperature. Not oposit. – Mr Zach Jun 27 '20 at 14:53
  • You are right, but while some parts will be warmer the room, and they heat up the air, other parts will be colder and collect the water form the less cold air. The water flows trough tiny gaps, freezes ... – n3ko Jun 27 '20 at 15:16
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With hard drives you might have a problem at this temperature, but you will definitely have an issue with condensation.

HEGE
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  • Why should it be condensation? This only occurs when warm air with humidity cools down. There is no humidity in this room and also nothing from outside at this temp. – Mr Zach Jun 27 '20 at 14:33
  • @MrZach Are you in the desert? In most parts of the world, humidity is still a concern even in winter. – Michael Hampton Jun 27 '20 at 15:54
  • @MrZach In case of a shutdown (which WILL happen) the room will cool down. Hence condensation. And there IS humidity in the room, unless it is REALLY cold the air WILL hold water. – TomTom Jun 27 '20 at 16:40
  • Thank you for the worry of condensation. But once there is no source of humidity, there will be no condensation. Condensation is a big problem once you have to cool down the temperature or if you have a warm room next to a cold area a cold. Then its important with the correct insulation methods. But once there is no temperature difference and water waporising, there will not be any condensation once its cold. I know it wont be any condensation or any corrusion. The questions is if the computer can operate on this temperature. – Mr Zach Jun 27 '20 at 18:45
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For reference, Lenovo SR650 servers should not be operated below 5 degrees Celsius. I suspect similar guide lines are given for other rack servers.

Mikael H
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You are taking it to the extreme, and while it might not cause any real problems, you should follow the manufacturer's guidelines in order to avoid voiding the warranty.

Sometimes the manual does only give a maximum recommended environmental temperature, but e.g. HPE has new Extended Ambient Temperature Guidelines also taking minumum temperatures, recommended humidity and the altitude into account. Likewise, DELL's recommendations for many server models starts from 10°C and also mentions the maximum temperature gradation.

Esa Jokinen
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