The future of IT depends on high-tech advances in data centers. Although we expect to see new data center systems being introduced, most people do not focus their attention on lighting advances in data centers. According to the Telecommunications Industry Association, there are standards that a data center has to follow. When you look at the latest release of the TIA-942-A, you will see a summary of lighting recommendations. In the document, there are three levels of lighting that are recommended:

• Level 1: the lighting needs to be convenient to support video surveillance usage even when the data center is not occupied.
• Level 2: motion sensors should activate lighting the entries as people walk in. The lights also need to be programmed to illuminate all the passageways and aisles. The lighting should be convenient enough to support personnel identification through security cameras.
• Level 3: during maintenance or other services in the data center racks, the light should increase to 200 lux in the vertical plane and 500 lux in the horizontal plane. This level of lighting is not needed in the entire data center, but it should only be available at this level when the need arises on specific zones.

Controlling the Lighting Fixtures

Data centers are known for virtualization and automation among other things. This design is also going to be used to control state-of-the-art lights. Here is how:

• Automation: with lighting controls you can have a vast array of capabilities available at the touch of a button. From occupancy sensing, dimming, temperature control, facility and process monitoring and even space optimization.
• Virtualization: the use of smart technology will bring about lighting controls that can be operated remotely. This is a system that can be used on any scale and controlled from anywhere.

If you want to learn more on how to light your data center, contact us today.