The HVAC industry is warming up to using the heat from data centers.
Data centers — the spaces, buildings, and campuses that house computer servers and related data-storage equipment — generate enormous amounts of waste heat, which is often simply released into the atmosphere. But in an increasingly computerized world, in which billions of devices are connected to the internet and many companies opt to co-locate server functions at shared facilities, the need for more and ever-larger data centers is growing, even as the pressures for greater energy efficiency and decarbonization mount.