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Forensic Lab temperature

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(@nea_icac)
Posts: 4
New Member
Topic starter
 

I work in a Computer Forensics Lab in Arkansas, lately there has been some debate on the temperature that should be maintained to keep the computers running efficiently. The lab is approximately 500 square feet and we run 6 forensic machines and 8 standard non forensic computers. During the winter when the air is drier we try to keep the temp at 66-68 and during the humid summer months we strive for 64-66. We have some that think this temp is too cold and want it set closer to 70-72 degrees due to personal comfort. My argument is and will remain the computers run more efficiently at the lower temperatures and we have more problems at the higher temperatures. Please share your thoughts and opinions as well as the temperature your labs are kept.

 
Posted : 11/02/2020 4:07 pm
minime2k9
(@minime2k9)
Posts: 481
Honorable Member
 

Honestly if your office is 72 degrees then something has gone horribly wrong p
I'm pretty sure when I read the specifications for our lenovo machines it just specified below 30 or 35 degrees (I forget which)

 
Posted : 11/02/2020 5:47 pm
(@cc4n6)
Posts: 16
Eminent Member
 

Looks like there is confusion with Celsius and Fahrenheit.

 
Posted : 11/02/2020 6:03 pm
minime2k9
(@minime2k9)
Posts: 481
Honorable Member
 

Not really, I know Americans use Fahrenheit. I just wish they would move to the 21st century.
Literally the rest of the world uses Celsius

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/FileCountries_that_use_Fahrenheit.svg

 
Posted : 11/02/2020 6:08 pm
jaclaz
(@jaclaz)
Posts: 5133
Illustrious Member
 

Honestly if your office is 72 degrees then something has gone horribly wrong p
I'm pretty sure when I read the specifications for our lenovo machines it just specified below 30 or 35 degrees (I forget which)

In their office, which is approximately 47 square meters in size wink they are debating about something between 66 F =~ 19 C and 68 F =~ 20 C vs. between 64 F=~ 18 C and 66 F =~ 19 C.

The difference is anyway so small that it makes no difference whatsoever, anything below 30 C would do (for the computers) just fine and anything between 18-20 (in Winter) and 23-25 (in Summer) would do nicely for the humans, keeping in winter anything above 18-20 is a waste of energy while keeping in summer 18-20 is not only a waste of energy, but also a (bordering with criminal) attempt to the health of the people working there.

When outside is like 30-35 C entering a room kept at 18-20 C is not entirely unlike entering a fridge.

For no apparent reason 😯 , a nice comparison between Manchester and (say) Jonesboro

https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/11929~39871/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Jonesboro-and-Manchester

(at the top you can change between F and C and km/h and knots)

jaclaz

 
Posted : 11/02/2020 6:20 pm
tracedf
(@tracedf)
Posts: 169
Estimable Member
 

You do not need the room to be under 70 degrees F. 72+ is fine. The only time I've seen acute issues was when the AC failed after we moved into a new building (at a previous employer) and our data center reached 100+. Some companies keep their data centers at about 80. For an office/lab, whatever temperature is most comfortable for the people working there is fine.

Check out this article regarding temperature ranges

https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2008/10/14/google-raise-your-data-center-temperature

From the article

"The guidance we give to data center operators is to raise the thermostat," said Erik Teetzel, an Energy Program Manager at Google. "Many data centers operate at 70 degrees or below. We'd recommend looking at going to 80 degrees."

 
Posted : 11/02/2020 9:43 pm
(@trewmte)
Posts: 1877
Noble Member
 

…Computer Forensics Lab…temperature that should be maintained to keep the computers running efficiently.

Your first guidance should be what does the machine manufacturer tech-sheet specify (e.g. tolerances)?

NIST, ISO17025, ISO9001, ISO27001 and so on have some good tips usually found in their given examples. Just as a suggestions to avoid the rabbit hole of personal preference temperatures.

…Computer Forensics Lab…The lab is approximately 500 square feet.

Open-plan, segregated office spaces or high-/low-level desk partitions?

…Computer Forensics Lab…we run 6 forensic machines and 8 standard non forensic computers.

Stand-alone or networked terminals?

Are the terminals all operating at the same time? Are the terminals constantly in use or any downtime? What is the ratio of active to non-active terminals at any specific periods of time you wish to measure?

How is the dispersion of heat emitted by these terminals currently controlled?

Are the terminals all clustered together in one area of the office space or spread evenly?

Ambient temperature for a room or terminal doesn't mean there wont be other conflicts.

 
Posted : 12/02/2020 10:51 am
jaclaz
(@jaclaz)
Posts: 5133
Illustrious Member
 

@trewnte

You forgot roll

How many people work in the office? Minimum, average and peak, please, divided in 1-hour intervals during working hours.

Are pets allowed? I yes how many of them, including breed, approximate weight and whethere they have their hair trimmed or not (if yes at which length in mm).

Windows? Number, size, orientation and specifics of both the glass and the frames used.

Are people allowed to bring to the office their own devices? Do they recharge or use them during working hours?

Are people allowed to carry hot meals in the office? If yes, please detail where they are procured from, exact distance in meters from the restaurant they are bought and how they are transported to the office, and at which time of the day they are prepared and consumed.

Do you have a coffee machine in the office? Please state power consumprtion and minutes per day of use.
Do you have a water cooler in the office? Please state amount of (cool) water drinked.
Are the above devices grouped or separated?

jaclaz

 
Posted : 12/02/2020 12:38 pm
(@rich2005)
Posts: 535
Honorable Member
 

We have some that think this temp is too cold and want it set closer to 70-72 degrees due to personal comfort. My argument is and will remain the computers run more efficiently at the lower temperatures and we have more problems at the higher temperatures. Please share your thoughts and opinions as well as the temperature your labs are kept.

Balls to the computers…..I run more efficiently at lower temperatures 😉

(sadly however people keep messing with the aircon, and the current room temperature is probably about 30c…..and I could only dream of getting the temperature down to 72f!)

 
Posted : 12/02/2020 12:45 pm
(@trewmte)
Posts: 1877
Noble Member
 

@trewnte

You forgot roll

How many people work in the office? Minimum, average and peak, please, divided in 1-hour intervals during working hours.

Are pets allowed? I yes how many of them, including breed, approximate weight and whethere they have their hair trimmed or not (if yes at which length in mm).

Windows? Number, size, orientation and specifics of both the glass and the frames used.

Are people allowed to bring to the office their own devices? Do they recharge or use them during working hours?

Are people allowed to carry hot meals in the office? If yes, please detail where they are procured from, exact distance in meters from the restaurant they are bought and how they are transported to the office, and at which time of the day they are prepared and consumed.

Do you have a coffee machine in the office? Please state power consumprtion and minutes per day of use.
Do you have a water cooler in the office? Please state amount of (cool) water drinked.
Are the above devices grouped or separated?

jaclaz

roll Jaclaz, Keep it real. If the above wasn't so sad, I might muster a laugh, but I cannot! roll

Go and read the standards and guidance from the various technical bodies.

 
Posted : 12/02/2020 1:11 pm
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