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J & S Electrical Contractors

Wiring a Server Room – Residential and Commercial

A properly wired server room serves as the beating heart of your residential or commercial IT infrastructure. Whether you’re an entrepreneur working out of your home, an avid gamer, or a business owner, hiring the right electrical contractor can increase the reliability and performance of your network. Laying out the wiring and hardware efficiently and using robust security tools can prevent security breaches and ensure fast data transfer speeds with virtually no downtime.

J&S Electrical Contractors, Inc. takes on large- and small-scale projects, including commercial and residential server room setup. Our master electricians can help you optimize your business backbone and create a reliable network free of disruptions.

Residential vs Commercial Server Rooms

Residential and commercial server rooms have different scales and purposes. Residential server rooms are set up in homes or apartment complexes for personal or professional use. They typically house a few servers, routers, switches, and cables in a closet, basement, or spare room. If you’re an avid gamer, tech enthusiast, or operate your business from home, you require proper wiring and ventilation just as larger commercial server rooms do.

Commercial server rooms for offices, schools, factories, and businesses may require dozens of servers mounted on racks and cabinets and connected by several feet of wiring. Commercial server rooms must conform to regulations and compliance requirements involving environmental control, redundancy, and security. Fortunately, you can partner with our commercial electricians to maintain standards and regulations in a cost-effective manner.

Avoid These Mistakes When Wiring a Residential Server Room

Cutting wires incorrectly and mixing voltage lines can negatively affect the performance of your residential server room. Working with an experienced electrician helps ensure that the wiring and connections are planned and installed flawlessly.

Avoid these common residential server room faux pas:

  • Incorrect wire length: Short wires strain the terminals and result in inferior connections. On the other hand, long wires tangle and may impede maintenance tasks. Our electricians cut wires snugly but not too tightly.
  • Wire damage: Nicked and frayed wires and cables can trigger short circuits and other electrical problems. That’s why it’s important to hire professionals who avoid bending and cutting the wires unnecessarily.
  • Overloading outlets: Outlets should never have excess devices plugged into them. This can result in trip hazards and electrical overloads that increase the risk of equipment damage and fire. This is also an important component of load balancing in a commercial server room.
  • Mixing voltage: Line-voltage wires (120V) carry much more electricity than low-voltage wires (12V). It’s important to separate these wires by at least 6 inches. 

Things You Shouldn’t Do When Wiring a Commercial Server Room

You’ll need to account for the same risks as residential server rooms when building your commercial data center. Additionally, the scale and scope of commercial server room projects require close consideration of the location, ventilation, security, and costs prior to installing a single server. 

Whereas you can put a residential server in a spare room or basement, you’ll want to centrally locate the server room for your manufacturing facility, office building, or other commercial space. If you can minimize noise and vibration, it may help prevent disruptions. 

Servers and related hardware generate a lot of heat. If you need dozens of servers to power your IT infrastructure, you’re going to need constant airflow to avoid thermal damage. Therefore, you may want to consider heavy-duty air conditioning to keep temperatures in check. 

By carefully limiting access to your server room, you can prevent tampering and human error. Cameras, sensors, and automatic locks go a long way in securing your server room. Our electricians can help you stay on budget without skimping on essential equipment. Therefore, it’s in your best interest to team up with the premier electrical contractor in the area.

J&S Electrical Contractors handles residential and commercial server room setups. Call 215-633-8330 or contact us online for assistance creating a secure, high-performing backbone for your IT infrastructure.