Raised floor

A raised floor is a data center flooring system of removable tiles (typically 60 x 60 cm) supported on pedestals 30-120 cm above the structural slab, creating a plenum used to distribute cold air through perforated tiles and to route power and network cabling. Raised floors dominated data center design for decades, paired with CRAC/CRAH perimeter cooling. Modern high-density facilities increasingly build slab-on-grade instead, with overhead cabling and ducted or in-row cooling, because floor plenums struggle to deliver enough airflow above roughly 10-15 kW per rack and cannot easily support the weight of liquid-cooled AI racks, which can exceed 1,500-2,500 kg each. Where raised floors persist, load ratings, grounding, and airflow management (brush grommets, blanking panels) are key specifications.