Two years ago, in our original blog, we explored the conditions under which Computer Room Air Conditioners (CRACs) are a valid and efficient solution for datacentre cooling. At that time, we looked at power density, redundancy, hot/cold aisle containment, and how CRACs compare to in-row, in-rack, and DX-based cooling strategies.

Since 2023, some key advances and product integrations have occurred, and it’s worth revisiting the guidance with fresh context. In particular, Motivair has joined the Schneider Electric portfolio, expanding cooling options in precision airflow and environmental control. At the same time, we want to make clear that Comtec’s Cooling Division can deploy not just standard CRACs (or Motivair units) in the data hall, but cooling solutions around server rooms, comms rooms, and even into adjacent office spaces – all integrated with our ESMM / Clean Cloud stack for unified visibility and control.

Below is an updated, consolidated guide: when CRACs still make sense, what new options are available, and how Comtec can deliver a complete, monitored cooling solution.

1. Revisiting CRACs: When They Still Make Sense

The considerations we discussed before remain valid:

  • Power density / load profile: If your IT load is moderate to high, CRACs can still be more efficient than over-spec’d DX or split-air systems.

  • Redundancy and resilience: CRACs support N+1 or 2N configurations; their modular nature helps with serviceability.

  • Containment & airflow optimization: CRACs perform best when airflow is constrained (cold/hot aisles, proper blanking, ducting).

  • Cooling footprint and ceiling plenum: In raised-floor or plenum-friendly layouts, CRACs can deliver cooling without intruding on rack space.

  • Operational familiarity & maintenance support: Many service technicians are experienced with CRACs, and spare parts are widely available.

So: if your environment is structured to optimise airflow, you have power loads that suit CRAC capacity, and you can support redundancy, CRACs remain a valid baseline cooling technology.

2. The Motivair / Schneider Electric Integration – What It Means

Since he original article in 2023, Motivair has been integrated into the Schneider Electric product umbrella. This means:

  • Motivair’s high-performance airflow and environmental control solutions now sit within the same ecosystem as Schneider’s data centre cooling lineup.

  • The broader offering allows more flexibility: combining CRACs, in-rack/in-row units, liquid cooling solutions, and precision air handling from Motivair (where needed).

  • Because Motivair is now under the same brand family, integration, parts support, and compatibility often improve, reducing friction in hybrid cooling architectures.

As a result, you can mix and match CRACs, in-row units, and Motivair systems in one design, while retaining coherent control, procurement, and service support.

3. Beyond the Data Hall — Cooling Everywhere

One of the gaps many clients overlook is that cooling needs don’t stop at the data hall. Comms rooms, server rooms, and even adjoining offices often require environmental control to maintain equipment reliability and staff comfort.

At Comtec’s Cooling Division, we offer:

  • Cooling for datacentre, server rooms and comms rooms, tailored to their heat load and spatial constraints.

  • Comfort / environmental cooling in office and support areas, ensuring staff spaces remain usable even when adjacent to high-power IT zones.

  • Hybrid cooling designs that combine CRACs, Motivair / precision HVAC units, and localized in-row or in-rack cooling as needed.

Importantly, because we understand both power/infrastructure and cooling, we can balance airflow, redundancy, and zoning so that your cooling architecture doesn’t sacrifice efficiency for coverage.

4. Bringing Cooling and Monitoring Together via ESMM

One of the biggest advances since our prior blog is how tightly we now integrate cooling with our ESMM (Enterprise Secure Monitoring & Management) within the Clean Cloud Enterprise Lite stack. This gives clients:

  • Real-time monitoring of CRAC, Motivair, in-row units, and environmental sensors (temperature, humidity, airflow, etc).

  • Alerting & thresholds, so if a unit drifts from nominal conditions, you’re notified before failure.

  • Historical performance analytics, which help you understand which units are overloaded, inefficient, or due for maintenance.

  • Visibility across IT infrastructure and power systems, enabling correlation between cooling events and UPS, server load, or network events.

  • Proactive replacement or scaling recommendations, informed by usage trends rather than reactive break/fix.

Because ESMM is cloud-based (or hybrid), monitoring continuity is preserved even if a local gateway fails, and with Schneider backing, the monitoring data and configuration remain secure and recovered.

5. What Comtec Can Do for You

When you work with Comtec for cooling + monitoring, here’s how we deliver real value:

  1. Assessment & design

    • We survey (ESMM VIEW) power, heat loads, redundancy needs, and room layouts across data halls, comms rooms, and offices.

    • We propose hybrid cooling architectures combining CRACs, Motivair, in-row or in-rack solutions where appropriate.

  2. Supply & installation

    • We procure the right units (CRACs, Motivair, or others), handle delivery, ducting, controls, cabling, etc.

    • We commission airflow tuning, containment, and balancing.

  3. Monitoring integration

    • We install software agents, configure ESMM, and ensure all cooling equipment is visible in the monitoring dashboard.

    • Alerts, dashboards, and reporting (e.g. quarterly) are set up according to your SLA and needs.

  4. Ongoing service & optimization

    • We provide maintenance (ESMM MAINTAIN), firmware updates, calibration, and performance reviews.

    • We refine cooling strategies over time based on monitoring data, making adjustments before failures occur.

  5. Full environment coverage

    • Whether your solution is purely on-premise, cloud, or hybrid, we ensure your cooling infrastructure is matched to real usage, redundancies, and future growth.

6. Use Case / Example (illustrative)

Imagine a customer running Schneider Electric (including Motivair-capable cooling) in their data hall, with adjacent comms rooms and staff workspaces. Using our combined solution, Comtec can:

  • Deploy CRAC units in the hall.

  • Insert Motivair airflow / liquid cooling units or in-row coolers in dense rack zones.

  • Provide localized cooling in the comms room and office spaces without disrupting airflow in the main hall.

  • Monitor all units in ESMM, reporting on performance, issuing alerts, and advising on scaling.

  • Compensate for any gateway outages by relying on cloud resilience and backup configurations, ensuring monitoring continuity.

7. Conclusion & Invitation

Things have changed since our original blog in 2023, product lines have evolved, integration has grown, and what was once a siloed view of cooling and monitoring can now become a unified, intelligent system.

If you’d like to discuss how CRACs, Motivair, hybrid cooling, and ESMM might best suit your environment, whether data centre, server room, comms closet or office space — we’d be happy to help. Contact our Cooling Division at Comtec and let’s talk about designing resilience, visibility, and efficiency into your infrastructure.