During a routine risk assessment, you discover that your organization's raised-floor data center uses overhead chilled-water pipes to feed in-row coolers. Facilities management wants an automatic alert the moment even a small amount of liquid escapes from those pipes, long before it can drip onto equipment or the floor. Which environmental control BEST satisfies this requirement?
Attach passive infrared (PIR) motion sensors to the pipe supports.
Mount photoelectric smoke detectors inside the ceiling plenum above the pipe run.
Install a rope-style leak-detection cable along the overhead chilled-water pipe.
Place differential air-pressure sensors between the hot and cold aisles.
A rope-style leak-detection cable is engineered to sense water anywhere along its conductive "rope" and is routinely installed beneath raised floors or secured to overhead piping in data centers. The sensor triggers as soon as moisture touches any point on the cable, providing the earliest possible warning.
Photoelectric smoke detectors look for airborne particulates generated by combustion and cannot detect liquid. Differential air-pressure sensors measure pressure differences between aisles or plenums to validate airflow and HVAC performance, not leaks. Passive infrared (PIR) motion sensors register changes in infrared energy caused by moving people or objects and likewise offer no capability to sense water. Therefore, only the rope-style leak-detection cable meets the stated need for immediate notification of a chilled-water leak.