In recent years, redirecting and/or reusing waste heat from data centres has been touted as a way of helping data centres to be more sustainable amid the drive towards net zero.

But do what do waste heat initiatives look like in practicality, what are the concerns of data centre operators in 2023, and how can waste heat be harnessed properly?

According to the new Waste Heat: The Data Centres’ Warm Embrace report from the digital built assets consultancy BCS, the topic of redistributing or reusing excess heat generated from the running of data centres is “increasingly discussed.”

The firm is right in saying this: in Germany, for instance, the Bundestag is expected to pass an amended Energy Efficiency Act, which sets a blanket quota for waste heat reuse from data centre facilities.

Theoretically, by repurposing waste heat, the operators of data centres can reduce the impact the centres have on the local and wider environment, as well as leading to an array of benefits for local businesses and communities.

One example of such an initiative is integrating waste heat into district heating systems, which BCS’s report points to as being common in Northern Europe.

Relatedly, the report suggests that they’ve “seen mini data centres used as ‘digital boilers’ to heat swimming pools with the local authorities benefitting from the water being heated to 30oC for 60% of the time and a refund for the electricity used by the data centre.”

BCS also outlined that greenhouse cultivation, urban farming, and manufacturing processes are all areas that could benefit from the harnessing of data centre waste heat.

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That said, the findings uncovered in BCS’s latest data centre survey of data centre experts — and which was conducted by research firm iX Consulting — highlight the concerns of operators, and perhaps underscore the potential difficulties that hold back initial or increased commitment to waste heat initiatives.

Specifically, the 2023 survey has shown that 63% of respondents expressed concerns about the efficiency of power generated using waste energy. Though, 73% of respondents shared this view in 2022, representing a 10% fall in apprehension when compared to last year.

Further, BCS says that the 2023 survey also shows that concerns around economic viability of the use of waste heat are declining, with 15% fewer respondents claiming that this was an issue.

Insights from the recent BCS survey outlined in the report, then, indicate that while specific concerns are present they are also diminishing.

In light of these declining concerns, how could waste heat efforts ramp up moving forward so that the suggested benefits could be unlocked? BCS says that increased collaboration between data centre operators, local governments, and community stakeholders is key here.

“Engaging with local communities, conducting feasibility studies, and implementing appropriate infrastructure are necessary steps to ensure the successful integration of waste heat into community initiatives,” the report reads.

The report punctuated that “The waste heat generated by data centres represents a valuable resource that, if properly harnessed, can benefit local communities in numerous ways.”

To read the full Waste Heat: The Data Centres’ Warm Embrace report, click here.