Computing devices have reached ubiquity in our personal and professional lives. As business has evolved to rely on the automation and ease of data accessibility provided by computers, servers, and mobile devices, the operation and maintenance of this technology has also evolved to help combat the major problem of heat management. With servers and computer devices utilizing moving parts and the chips on their internal boards both generating a non-trivial amount of heat, the most common internal cooling method has historically been the installation of multiple fans within a vented chassis creating air flow to dissipate heat radiated by processing components. These fans expel the heat from the servers but then begin increasing the air temperature in their surrounding environment, degrading optimal operating temperature thresholds of other electronic devices. Additionally, this method of addressing the heat problem is not the most energy efficient, and it also creates a loud noisy atmosphere within server closets, server farms, and data centers.
Fanless systems shift the paradigm and solve the heat problem in a different, more effective way. The development of fanless systems has been a long-awaited innovation for IT professionals looking to find solutions for increased heat level applications. This article will cover the dynamics of this technology, its benefits, and compare its performance with traditional fan cooling methods.
What is a fanless system?
What are the main benefits of a fanless system?
Less noise
First, the obvious benefit comes by way of audible noise. Because there are no fans in these systems, they generate much less noise than the customer fan cooled counterparts. Anyone that has walked through a data center housing a large population of servers mounted in rack enclosures is fully aware of how loud fans operate often drowning out standard verbal communication amongst personnel performing work in these rooms. Other applications where minimized noise is welcomed such as
- schools
- libraries
- laboratories or medical installations
- video/audio editing
- and mobile configurations greatly benefit from this less audible solution
Physical space
Another added benefit is that fanless systems provide a smaller physical footprint as they are normally smaller than standard fan cooled computer systems. Since leaving space around internal computing components is a necessity for cooling by airflow created by fans, items within a fanless device are fitted closely together taking up much less space. This allows for more versatile installations creating increase opportunity for computing solutions to be used in various configurations such as in-vehicle applications. Premio’s ACO-6000 series in-vehicle fanless systems not only allow for minimal physical space requirements, they also employ anti-shock/vibration features making them ideal for mobile operations while supporting Intel Skylake socket processors for optimal computing performance.
Our RCO-1000 Series also is designed with four form factors that make them best suited for embedded platforms such as machine automation or IoT (internet of things) gateways that serve as a connection point between IoT devices and a Cloud system.
Increased reliability
Over time, conventional fan cooling systems run into the problem of their fans degrading operation or failing completely if not properly serviced through a preventive maintenance strategy. Even then, the components within the fan will eventually fail and require replacement. However, during the interim time before a replacement fan is installed, the temperature of the system in question will rise and increases the propensity of an untimely shutdown of the device. Having less moving parts allows for a higher mean time before failure (MTBF) rating of a fanless system minimizing maintenance and downtime costs.
Lack of fan openings
In industrial installations, environmental hazards pose a detrimental danger to fan cooled systems.
Exposure to elements, dust and/or debris, along with moisture all contribute to unexpected failures of traditional computers using fans for heat expulsion. Clearly, fanless designed devices account for these variables and are able to be applied in much harsher situations with some even allowing for outdoor operations as well. Medical configurations also benefit from this feature increasing the sterility level of an area where systems relying on fans are not suited for use.
Cost efficient
The power, measured in watts (W), provided to all IT devices is essentially converted to heat. In turn, this conversion of energy relates itself to a unit of measurement for heat that is called a British Thermal Unit (BTU) and can also be referenced with time duration by hour known as BTU/hr. With cooling costs continuing to soar for sizable server infrastructures and large-scale data centers, the saving provided by fanless systems make them an ideal solution for those in search of energy efficient solutions.
While an entire organization’s computing architecture may not be ideal for a complete fanless configuration overhaul, replacing high BTU/hr rated systems with this option provide a great impact at reducing the cooling expenses of the environment. Couple this with the aforementioned savings of maintenance and downtime losses made apparent with fan cooling system, the financial benefits of fanless design are clearly evident and serve to provide an assortment of advantages over traditional solutions.
At Premio, we specialize in providing the design, production, and distribution of digital computing products worldwide supplying industry leading inventive computing solutions including fanless systems. Our company is well versed in sizing server and platform options with focuses on healthcare, automation, and retail needs that are able to support the most complex architecture challenges.
If you need assistance determining which of our custom products is best suited for your requirements, please contact us today and let our Premio Customer Care Team begin developing a solution that meets the dynamic business demands of your specialized application.