Three Types of Edge Computing Environments and their Impact on Physical Infrastructure Selection

Overview

The three types are dedicated IT spaces (controlled temperature, restricted access), commercial and office spaces (semi-controlled temperature, low dust, no restricted access, noise limits) and industrial or harsh locations (indoor or outdoor, wide temperature range, dust and water exposure). Each keeps the baseline needs of security, enclosure, environmental separation, power, cooling and management but adds constraints. To hold an IT space at 25 °C, loads above roughly 2 kW per rack generally need dedicated active cooling (DX or chilled water) rather than ventilation; 1,500 W at 77 °F falls in the fan-assist range. Li-ion UPS batteries are noted for life expectancy above 10 years versus VRLA.

In offices acoustics decide a lot: background is about 50 dBA, conversation about 60 dBA, and 4-8 low-profile (1-2U) servers at average CPU load produce 65-68 dBA before cooling fans are added. Comfort cooling is typically designed for about 54 W/m2 (5 W/ft2), equal to about 150 W per rack at 2.8 m2 per rack; the ASHRAE 55-2017 comfort range is 19-28 °C. Actively ventilated enclosures in comfort-cooled spaces were found effective up to 3.6 kW per enclosure; beyond that, supplemental heat rejection such as a split AC is likely needed.

For harsh sites, IEC 60529 ratings matter: industrial applications often request IP54 or IP55, dust digit 5 is common for industrial and 6 (dust tight) for outdoor, and water digit 8 means submersion. IEC 62262 impact ratings run IK01 = 0.14 J, IK05 = 0.7 J, IK10 = 20 J (highest). Ruggedized enclosures generally have a useful life of at least 10 years versus a typical 3-4 year IT refresh, so the hardening premium amortizes longer than ruggedized IT.

Key points

1. At 25 °C, loads above roughly 2 kW per rack generally need active cooling (DX or chilled water).
2. Li-ion UPS batteries last above 10 years versus VRLA.
3. Noise: office background about 50 dBA, conversation about 60 dBA, 4-8 1-2U servers 65-68 dBA.
4. Comfort cooling about 54 W/m2, about 150 W per rack at 2.8 m2 per rack; ASHRAE 55-2017 range 19-28 °C.
5. Actively ventilated enclosures work to 3.6 kW in comfort-cooled spaces; beyond that supplemental heat rejection.
6. IP54/IP55 for industrial, dust digit 6 for outdoor; water digit 8 = submersion.
7. IK01 = 0.14 J, IK05 = 0.7 J, IK10 = 20 J.
8. Ruggedized enclosures last at least 10 years against a 3-4 year IT refresh.

Using it in design

• Add an environmentClass (it_space, commercial_office, industrial_harsh) plus indoor/outdoor flag that drives defaults and checks.
• Warn when rack load exceeds about 2 kW at a 25 °C target without dedicated cooling.
• For commercial/office, warn when a ventilated enclosure exceeds 3.6 kW or heat exceeds the roughly 54 W/m2 comfort-cooling allowance.
• Default to IP5x for industrial and IP6x for outdoor, require a locked enclosure, camera and door sensor where access is unrestricted, and show estimated noise against the 50 dBA office background.

Who should read it

Designers choosing enclosure, cooling and protection class for micro data centres in offices, plants or outdoors.

Related standards

• IEC 60529
• IEC 62262
• ASHRAE 55-2017
• ISO 12944
• EN 1627
• IEC 61439-5
• NEMA 250

Publication details

Authors

Wendy Torell

Publisher

Schneider Electric

Year

2020

Document number

WP 278

Document language

English

Source type

Manufacturer

Access

Free to read

Licence

Copyright retained; citation only — the publisher’s terms apply to the original document

Citation