You joke (I think) but community heating schemes off these places would be a good byproduct. Not enough to make them worthwhile, but it would offset their impact.
Do they even make enough heat for that to be viable option? Most computer systems can handle a pretty low temperature before they start having problems because they’re over-heating.
IIRC that’s being done in some places because it takes care of two issues at once. But certainly not the majority of data centers.
On a scale several orders of magnitude smaller, it’s also how car heating systems work. Waste engine heat is transferred to the heater core and then air is blown through it. Engine gets cooled, cabin gets heated.
There are many busy data centers in the southern US states (and other places within a similar proximity to the equator) where community heating would be massively unwelcome for most of the year.
It’s not a bad idea for cold climate areas that might benefit more from it though. Much better than letting it go to waste while paying extra for heat.
You joke (I think) but community heating schemes off these places would be a good byproduct. Not enough to make them worthwhile, but it would offset their impact.
Do they even make enough heat for that to be viable option? Most computer systems can handle a pretty low temperature before they start having problems because they’re over-heating.
IIRC that’s being done in some places because it takes care of two issues at once. But certainly not the majority of data centers.
On a scale several orders of magnitude smaller, it’s also how car heating systems work. Waste engine heat is transferred to the heater core and then air is blown through it. Engine gets cooled, cabin gets heated.
There are many busy data centers in the southern US states (and other places within a similar proximity to the equator) where community heating would be massively unwelcome for most of the year.
It’s not a bad idea for cold climate areas that might benefit more from it though. Much better than letting it go to waste while paying extra for heat.