Microsoft rethinking data center design in Iowa
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — West Des Moines officials say Microsoft is going with a different design for a data center expansion because of Iowa’s steamy summers.
The first phase included an administration building and a series of pre-assembled modules that house computer services.
The Des Moines Register says Microsoft is proposing a steel building to house the site’s next crop of computer components.
City planner Lynne Twedt says the change came in response to the Iowa humidity. Twedt says the individual units aren’t working so well.
The director of infrastructure at the University of Iowa says cold, dry conditions can create static electricity and harm electronics while high humidity can wreak havoc on computer equipment.
