Recycling Excess Heat From the Data Center

itwbennett writes "A new data center being built in Helsinki, scheduled to go live at the end of January, will generate energy and deliver hot water for the city. The data center is located in an old bomb shelter and is connected to the Helsinki public energy company's district heating system, which works by pumping boiling water through a system of pipes to households in Helsinki. The recycled heat from the data center could add about 1 percent to the total energy generated by the energy company's system in the summer." The article doesn't say what the overall efficiency of the heat recovery is. Researchers at MIT are working on a new energy-conversion technology based on quantum dots that they say has already demonstrated 40% of the Carnot efficiency limit — 4 times what is achieved by current commercial thermoelectric devices. The researchers believe they can reach 90% of the Carnot limit.

Comments

Re:I think it's great, but...

[sfcat]

Yes and no, water actually is a very good "thermal" battery. That is why coastal regions have a more temperate climate than inland region. Its cheap and we know a lot about how to move it around and have existing infrastructure for doing exactly that. Its not the most efficient way, but often it is the most practical and economical.