ATLANTA - An overview of the design needs for data centers and telecommunication facilities is available in a new publication from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

"The datacom industry is faced with tough technical challenges such as high density cooling and the lack of vendor neutral material," said Don Beaty, chair of ASHRAE's technical committee on mission control facilities, technology spaces, and electronic equipment, which wrote the book.

Design Considerations for Datacom Equipment Centers provides an overview of the design needs, such as heat loads, of datacom facilities. The book is divided into two parts. Datacom Facility Basics includes chapters on datacom design criteria, HVAC load, computer room cooling, including both air and liquid cooling, and air distribution. Other Considerations includes chapters on ancillary spaces, contamination, acoustical noise emissions, structural and seismic design and testing, fire detection and suppression, commissioning, availability and redundancy, and energy efficiency.