Data Centres

A new page for the website. Have a read and tell us what needs improving.

0 of 10 saves as you go

Page title and Google listing

stripdoors.com.au/industry/data-centres/
Strip Curtains for Data Centre Cold Aisles | Strip Doors
PVC strip curtains for data centre cold aisle containment. Block the aisle ends, cut hotspots, and improve PUE. Supplied to NextDC and others.

This is roughly how the page will look in Google.

Does this describe the page properly?

Opening

Cold aisle containment that costs a fraction of a hard-wall system. We have supplied NextDC and Rachtech.

Strip Curtains for Data Centre Cold Aisles

Cold aisle containment that costs a fraction of a hard-wall system. We have supplied NextDC and Rachtech.

Talk to Us About a ProjectRequest a Free Quote

Right headline, photo and buttons?

The Challenge in a Server Room

Cooling a server costs more over its life than the server did to buy. That makes airflow the biggest lever you have on running cost, and it is decided at fitout, not afterwards.

An open cold aisle leaks. Conditioned air comes up through the floor grid, and if the ends of the aisle are open it spills into the room instead of going through the racks, which is where hotspots come from.

Every watt spent pushing air that never reaches a server shows up in your power usage effectiveness. Containment is the cheapest way to move that number.

Does this match what data centre builders actually deal with?

How Strip Curtains Solve It

Strip curtains close the ends of the cold aisle. With a pelmet running from the top of the racks to the ceiling, the conditioned air has nowhere to go except through the servers.

The appeal is cost and flexibility. Strips go in fast, cost a fraction of a hard-wall containment system, and can be moved when the rack layout changes, which it will.

Techs walk straight through with a rack unit in both hands. There is nothing to prop open, so the containment you commissioned is the containment you still have at the next audit.

  • Forced airflow: Conditioned air goes through the racks, not around them
  • Fewer hotspots: Even temperature along the length of the aisle
  • Lower PUE: Less cooling wasted on air that misses the servers
  • Fast to fit: No structural work, no long lead time
  • Reconfigurable: Moves when the rack layout does
Are the specs right?

How Cold Aisle Containment Works

Containment is four things working together. Get any one wrong and the conditioned air finds another way out.

Cross-section of a data centre cold aisle showing conditioned air rising through the raised floor grid between two rows of server racks, strip curtains closing both ends of the aisle, and a pelmet running from the top of the racks to the ceiling, so the air is forced through the servers
1

Air in · Raised floor grid

Perforated floor tiles

Conditioned air is pushed up through the floor grid into the aisle between two rows of racks. This is the air you have already paid to cool, so everything after this is about not wasting it.

2

Aisle ends · Both ends of the cold aisle

Clear PVC strip curtain

Strip curtains close both ends. This is the part we supply. Clear PVC so techs can see down the aisle, and strips rather than doors so nobody has to put a rack unit down to get through.

3

Overhead · Rack top to ceiling

Pelmet

A pelmet closes the gap above the racks. Without it the cold air simply rises over the top of the row and mixes with the hot return, which undoes the containment.

4

Through the servers · The result

Nowhere else to go

The air then has nowhere else to go other than through the server. That is what closing the ends and the top buys you, and it is what flattens the hotspots.

Strip curtains are not the only way to do this

Plexiglass ceilings and sliding doors at the aisle ends do the same job. Which one suits comes down to cost and who specified the fitout. We will tell you straight if strips are the wrong call for your site.

This is your explanation from the call, written up. Have we described the mechanism correctly?

Recommended Products for Cold Aisle Containment

Clear PVC so techs can see down the aisle. Prices exclude delivery and were taken from the live catalogue on 20 August 2026.

DoorwayProductPrice
Aisle ends, standardClear PVC Roll 2mm x 200mm Flat, 50m$279.40
Aisle ends, wider overlapClear PVC Roll 3mm x 300mm Flat, 50m$561.00
MountingStainless Steel Hook-on Type Head Section, 1968mm$121.00
Are these the products you would recommend?

Customer quote

We have no genuine quote for this one yet, so the section is switched off rather than filled with something invented.

Is there a customer who would give us a line?

Questions and answers

How much of a difference does cold aisle containment actually make?

It depends on your starting point, your rack density and how leaky the room is now. The mechanism is not in dispute: air that cannot escape the aisle goes through the servers. We are not going to quote you a percentage we cannot stand behind.

Why strip curtains rather than a hard-wall containment system?

Cost and flexibility. Strips go in quickly, cost a fraction of a built system, and move when your rack layout changes. A hard-wall system is tidier and may suit a purpose-built hall better.

Do you supply anything other than the aisle end curtains?

The strip curtain and its head section is our part. The pelmet, floor grid and rack layout are the mechanical contractor's. We also supply Rachtech, so your contractor may already be buying our material through them.

Can techs get through carrying equipment?

Yes, that is the main advantage over a door. The strips part when you walk into them and fall back behind you, so nobody has to put a rack unit down to open anything.

What about antistatic or fire rating?

Talk to us before you specify. Standard PVC suits most rooms, but if your build has a specific antistatic or fire requirement we need to know at quote stage rather than after delivery.

Have you done this before?

Yes. NextDC, including the Airport West site, has strip curtains on its cold aisles. We also supply Rachtech, who work across this sector.

Are all these answers correct?

Specifying for a Build

Most of this work reaches us through the builder or the fitout designer rather than the operator. If you are specifying a data hall, send us the aisle dimensions and rack row length and we will price the aisle ends.

If strip curtains are the wrong answer for your site, we will say so. We would rather tell you now than be the reason a containment strategy underperforms.

Talk to Us About a ProjectRequest a Free Quote

Is this the right note to finish on?

Questions we need you to answer

These are the things we could not confirm ourselves. The page cannot go live until they are sorted.

Can you send the Google data centre white paper that mentions strip doors?

You said on the 10 Aug call you would dig out the link. We could not find it, so the page currently links Google's PUE page instead, which does not mention strip curtains at all. A source that does would be much stronger for a specifier audience.

Where does the figure come from that cooling a server costs more than buying it?

It is the strongest line on the page and it is yours from the call, but we have no source for it. Specifiers check things. We would rather cite it properly or soften it.

What do you actually supply for a cold aisle? We have guessed clear 2mm x 200mm and 3mm x 300mm.

This is a genuine guess from the verified range. You supply Rachtech in this space so you will know what specification actually goes out.

Is there an antistatic or fire-rated option, and do data centre clients ask for one?

We have written an FAQ saying to talk to you at quote stage. If there is a product we should name it. If there is not, we should say so plainly.

Can we get photos of a cold aisle installation, from NextDC or anyone else?

This is the only page in the set with no photographs. Data halls are restricted so it may need the client to supply them, or permission to shoot.

Have you spoken to Malcolm at SRA about the case study?

Agreed on the call. We draft it, he reviews and approves, so it is minimal work for him. A named Australian case study would carry this page.

Is this page aimed at the right person? We have written it for the builder or fitout designer, not the operator.

You said builders come to you, and that this suits direct outreach with the trade contact list more than organic search. The page is written accordingly, which is why it talks about specifying rather than buying.

That's everything

Press send and it comes straight to Hilary. Nothing is sent until you do.

Your answers save in this browser as you go, so you can close the tab and come back. Stick to the same device.