F E A T U R E
Whilst anonymity is an acceptable approach in many locations the requirement for low-latency , the availability power or other advantageous adjacencies will increasingly place data centres in more sensitive environments .
Where data centres exist in urban areas the issues are particularly acute . The scale and lack of transparency are more suited to industrial environments than a typical urban context . There are also issues with noise and the necessary security measures at site perimeters .
Good design principles can be employed to mitigate these issues :
• Making the most of the outwardfacing aspects of the project , the offices and landscaping
• Provide publicly accessible functions such as co-working spaces and tech hubs at the interface with the public realm
• Design the exterior of the buildings to reflect the principles that govern the design of the equipment within them : well-considered , adaptable , carefully constructed components using quality materials and made to last
As the need for data storage and the awareness of the environmental impact grows , anonymity may no longer work as a default position . Data centres will have to perform better environmentally and learn to be good neighbours .
grouping net heat generators , like data centres , with industries or buildings that are net heat users , such as primary manufacturing facilities .
For example , siting data centres near hospitals , hotels , leisure centres and housing developments provide a readymade , constant market for their heat . Again , the carrot / stick balance must be carefully managed to ensure a win-win situation for all participants .
The benefits of this approach are reciprocal . Moving heat to an ambient loop can make the data centre more efficient than if this heat were rejected to the atmosphere , as in an air-cooled chiller . This efficiency means less primary energy is required to run the data centre . The principle of one energy input and two useful energy outputs is a massive benefit to the overall carbon footprint of all buildings and infrastructure connected to the loop .
Tim Mitchell , Sales Director , Klima Therm
ata centres produce a
D lot of heat , which can very easily be captured , recycled and used in district heating systems . The barriers to widespread adoption of this approach are not technological . The market has all the machinery and skills required to use the heat created by data centres but there are legal and practical challenges – for out-of-town data centres in particular .
The legal issues of who is responsible for what elements of the system and the energy being fed and taken from it are initially significant , but certainly not insurmountable : where there ’ s a will there ’ s a way , and the balance of carrot ( e . g . financial incentives for participants ) and stick ( national or local planning rules ) must be found to drive uptake .
The practical challenges of what to do with the heat generated by these ‘ out-of-town ’ data centres can be solved by using the ‘ smart city ’ concept ;
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