We should pay more attention to the role of the humble grommet in airflow management, says specialist vendor Upsite Technologies. A report from ASHRAE has found that their use can save nearly $100,000 a year on a 1MW data center. 

Air leakage in raised-floor data centers can cost a great deal, according to a report from ASHRAE (the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Airconditioning Enginers). The third-party report tested five brands of brush grommets, designed to seal cable openings, and Upsite got in touch to tell us that its KoldLok brand came top. 

Well done, grommet!

”Cable penetrations through raised floors in computer rooms are often the most significant culprits in expensive air leakages that hamper efficient operation of the cooling systems that serve air-cooled IT equipment,” says the report, whose full title is Plenum-Leakage Bypass Airflow in Raised-Floor Data Centers.

Fitting grommets to the points where cables penetrate a floor will prevent expensively-cooled air leaking to where it will do no good, so fitting these units will save money, the report says. The Koldlok product could save up to $960,000 over ten years in a 1MW data center, according to extracts published by Upsite.

The full  version of the report is available for money from ASHRAE. 

Upsite has been getting recognition from other sources - it won the “Bright Idea” category at the 2015 Modern Infrastructure Impact Awards earlier this year.