Inc.
Summary
One large data center typically consumes about 100 megawatts of power annually—enough to heat 100,000 homes for a year. Historically, that’s been a one-way transaction, with data centers drawing heavily from local power grids while communities get little in return. Now, some operators are changing that equation, repurposing waste heat to warm nearby buildings and power local infrastructure, perhaps even entire cities.
“We’re at a turning point where data centers are evolving from consumers of resources to becoming a source of clean, affordable energy for local communities,” says Katie McGinty, vice president and chief sustainability and external relations officer at Johnson Controls, a global technology company that focuses on HVAC.
Some cities in Europe, along with parts of the U.S., are utilizing a model known as district heating, which can heat or cool a cluster of facilities through a central plant. The main difference between district heating and an electrical grid is that grids move electricity whereas district heating moves thermal energy. Heat is made from either steam or hot water and is also called “waste” heat, a thermal energy byproduct derived from places like factories or data centers. The Mäntsälä data center in Finland, for instance, heats about 2,500 homes by harvesting the waste heat it generates, pushing energy costs down for locals.
It depends on where the heat pump is located within a system, says Rob Thornton, the president and CEO of the International District Energy Association. Building owners and operators are likely responsible if the heat pump is located within their facility, but if a heat pump is placed in a central plant, then the district energy provider is responsible.
The push to repurpose data center heat is only expected to grow, driven by the expanding supply of data centers and surging energy demand. In the EU, Thornton notes, data centers aren’t profiting from the arrangement.
Notably, says Thornton, data centers aren’t profiting from the arrangement. “In other words, the capital cost for the equipment to utilize surplus heat is borne by ‘others’ or by the district energy provider, but the data center is not charging or invoicing for heat expelled from their server racks to a thermal provider,” he adds. Some EU jurisdictions have gone further, passing policies that require data centers to connect to district energy systems directly rather than simply releasing waste heat into the surrounding environment.
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