Unfavourable environmental conditions such as heat, frost or excessive humidity can lead to
different kinds of damage, such as malfunctions in technical components or damage to storage
media. These effects can be aggravated by frequent fluctuations in the climatic conditions.
Unfavourable environmental conditions can also mean that people are no longer able work or
are even injured or killed.
Each person and each technical device has a temperature range within which their normal
way of working (people) or proper functioning (devices) is ensured. A rise or fall in the ambient
temperature to a value outside that range could result in shut-downs, non-productive times,
operational malfunctions or equipment failures.
The windows in server rooms are frequently opened for ventilation purposes in an
unauthorised manner. During seasons in which the outside temperature varies greatly (in the
spring or autumn), open windows can cause large temperature fluctuations, and humidity
levels may exceed the permissible upper limit due to the sudden drop in temperature.
Examples:
• At midsummer temperatures and without adequate cooling, IT devices may fail
because the temperature is too high.
• An IT system that is too dusty may overheat.
• If the temperature is too high, magnetic storage media may be demagnetised.