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A decision support system for waste heat recovery and energy efficiency improvement in data centres

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  • Luo, Yang
  • Andresen, John
  • Clarke, Henry
  • Rajendra, Matthew
  • Maroto-Valer, Mercedes

Abstract

Data centre sector is emerging as one of the largest and fastest growing industrial sectors, accounting for 3% of the global electricity supply and contributing to 4% of total greenhouse gas emissions. A framework for waste heat energy recovery and its accompanying decision support system is presented with the ability to evaluate the waste heat (source) and potential demand (sink) compatibility, perform exergy and temporal availability analysis, and undertake cost-benefits and environmental impact analysis of available heat recovery technologies. This four stages framework is implemented through the case study of a medium-sized commercial data centre to provide evidence of its applicability. The results demonstrated that the framework and decision support system can deliver a streamlined and optimised heat recovery strategy for reducing overall energy requirement in the data centre. About 68% of the inevitable waste heat from IT equipment can be recovered by the recommended solution, allowing the recovered waste heat in the form of warm water to be fed back into the facility for applications such as space heating, achieving about 10% improvement in data centre power usage effectiveness. The solutions given by the decision support system are generally accessible for most data centres as the technologies are readily available and often lead to short payback time and substantial energy savings.

Suggested Citation

  • Luo, Yang & Andresen, John & Clarke, Henry & Rajendra, Matthew & Maroto-Valer, Mercedes, 2019. "A decision support system for waste heat recovery and energy efficiency improvement in data centres," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 1217-1224.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:250:y:2019:i:c:p:1217-1224
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.05.029
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    Cited by:

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    4. Yuan, Xiaolei & Liang, Yumin & Hu, Xinyi & Xu, Yizhe & Chen, Yongbao & Kosonen, Risto, 2023. "Waste heat recoveries in data centers: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
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    6. Aridi, Rima & Faraj, Jalal & Ali, Samer & Lemenand, Thierry & khaled, Mahmoud, 2022. "A comprehensive review on hybrid heat recovery systems: Classifications, applications, pros and cons, and new systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    7. Ieva Pakere & Kirils Goncarovs & Armands Grāvelsiņš & Marita Agate Zirne, 2024. "Dynamic Modelling of Data Center Waste Heat Potential Integration in District Heating in Latvia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-13, January.
    8. Jinkyun Cho & Jesang Woo & Beungyong Park & Taesub Lim, 2020. "A Comparative CFD Study of Two Air Distribution Systems with Hot Aisle Containment in High-Density Data Centers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-19, November.
    9. Zhang, Yingbo & Shan, Kui & Li, Xiuming & Li, Hangxin & Wang, Shengwei, 2023. "Research and Technologies for next-generation high-temperature data centers – State-of-the-arts and future perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
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    11. Peter L. Borland & Kevin McDonnell & Mary Harty, 2023. "Assessment of the Potential to Use the Expelled Heat Energy from a Typical Data Centre in Ireland for Alternative Farming Methods," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-32, September.

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