Articles & Presentations

We are, in this case, referring to the Phoenix market, which is often pitted against Denver. We see Denver, Phoenix, and Atlanta as the three emerging markets to watch in the US. In this report, however, we're spotlighting Phoenix as the market that has significant potential for future growth.

Why Phoenix? While we normally avoid clichés like the plague, 'it's a dry heat' is fitting in this case. Readers have seen us talk about economization quite recently, and we covered a questionable cooling technology, but the biggest takeaway from it all is that humidity is the proverbial devil when it comes to cooling efficiency. A full dissection of the process involves complex psychometric charts. Summarily, however, air conditioning efficiency is dependent not only on the temperature of the air but also on the amount of water that condenses as a result of cooling the air. Removing the humidity from the air, which is water in gaseous form, requires condensation – or put another way, a change in state (phase) from a gas to a liquid. Changing phases from gas to liquid releases energy to the air mass; i.e., heat. This requires additional cooling to counteract the energy added to the air.

Currently, very few datacenter expansions are under way – and those expansions that are happening are largely in the major markets, since they are less speculative (less risky) and more appealing to those providing the debt financing. Once credit eases, however, the emerging markets will see some rejuvenation. With Phoenix's dry climate and the newfound awareness of datacenter efficiency, we expect to see Phoenix experience notable growth, fueled in this case not only by networks, but also the dry desert air.