Richard Froese
South Peace News
Big Lakes County will soon get a new air conditioning unit for its computer server room.
At its regular meeting Feb. 12, council agreed to purchase a new unit for the server room for $8,250.
“The existing ductless split air conditioning unit in the room is failing,” Joe Zdeb, director of corporate services, told council.
In late 2024 and in January 2025, the existing unit stopped working and required repairs, Zdeb said.
“Repairs were completed . . . however, we were recommended by the AC contractor that it is more cost effective to replace the unit as repairs may continue to be required and the parts for the unit are discontinued.”
The AC unit is required because the server equipment needs to be kept cool and the equipment in the room generates a lot of heat.
“Within a few hours of the unit failing last time the temperature in the server room increased by 10 C,” Zdeb said.
“These higher temperatures are hard on the equipment and will lead to servers needing to be replaced sooner if the room is not properly cooled.”
The current air conditioning unit was purchased in 2019 for $15,597.36.
Funding for the new unit will come from the building capital reserve.
The current unit has been running continuously. Estimated lifespans for normal seasonal use of the current type of unit is 10-15 years.