Abstract
The global energy consumption of data centers (DCs) has experienced exponential growth over the last decade, that is expected to continue in the near future. Reasonable utilization of DC waste heat, which is dissipated during the computational process, can potentially be an effective solution to mitigate the environmental impact. However, the practical implementation of waste heat utilization in the DC environment is a very challenging task. The possible benefits of waste heat utilization are uncertain and difficult to quantify with the methods that are common in practice. This paper introduces a feasibility study in which dynamic simulation tools were used to predict the energy performance of a university campus resulting from the integration of a proposed DC system with an existing aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES). The presented study utilizes building energy simulation (BES) to evaluate uncertainty of the waste heat potential associated to various thermal management strategies of the proposed DC. Further in the feasibility study, the carbon footprint of the integrated approach is assessed for both the current and future situation based on measured data from the existing university campus and its district ATES system.
Highlights
Recent energy statistics indicate that the data centers (DCs) industry is responsible for 1.7% to 2.2% of the world’s electricity consumption (Masanet and Koomey 2013; Shehabi et al 2016)
This paper introduces a feasibility study in which dynamic simulation tools were used to predict the energy performance of a university campus resulting from the integration of a proposed DC system with an existing aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES)
From the perspective of the overall campus, these savings are comparable to the carbon emissions produced by a large administrative building (e.g. B9 N-Laag in Fig. 10) Higher savings can be assumed in the future utilization scenario, where the integrated operation has no limitations resulting from the storage balance requirement
Summary
Recent energy statistics indicate that the DC industry is responsible for 1.7% to 2.2% of the world’s electricity consumption (Masanet and Koomey 2013; Shehabi et al 2016). Adding the DC system with its vast waste heat into a low-temperature thermal grid serving typical residential buildings may lead to uncertain energy and environmental outcomes due to the different requirements of these two actors, where there are often different expectations regarding the operation of the integrated district system. This feasibility study uses BES tools for assessing and predicting the impact and energy performance of a DC when added to an existing university campus district heating and cooling system with ATES. The energy and environmental implications are evaluated using a numerical model representing a typical DC infrastructure that might be added to the campus district thermal system of the Eindhoven University of Technology (Meulen 2016)
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