Is Your Tech Room Temperature-Controlled?

No matter the season, you should always be caring for your technology and making sure the temperature is right for them. While you might have your air conditioning on and strong ventilation during the work day to keep employees comfortable and healthy, most offices drop the air conditioning to a more passive setting once people go home. While this saves a lot of energy and associated costs, it can be hard on your computers. Here’s what to look out for:

Keep your hardware off the floor.

A lot of offices have switched to laptops. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t an occasional desktop with the actual computer on the floor. If you have a dedicated server in your office, that probably also is directly on the floor. But machines lower to the ground receive less ventilation, deal with colder temperatures, and are less safe from physical impact. They’re also susceptible to water damage from frozen pipes or leaks. Make sure to store your server and backup technology on ventilated shelves and keep any desktop computers stored on the desk instead of directly on the floor.

Maintain a minimum safe temperature.

Offices generally have a minimum temperature, especially leased spaces. Generally, whatever passive temperature is set to keep pipes safe is enough, but some technology requires different temperatures. Make sure your server is protected. Keep the batteries charged within the safety zone or that the devices are powered down entirely. Cold temperatures can have a negative impact on battery power, and abrupt changes between cold storage and warm use can damage the internal workings.

The temperature can damage your electronics even more easily than it can damage the rest of your business’s infrastructure. Make sure your office environment can protect them, both day and night, and that you’re prepared for an emergency. For more office environment tips, go to Tangram here.