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Techno-Economic Analysis of Waste Heat Utilization in Data Centers: Application of Absorption Chiller Systems

Author

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  • Leyla Amiri

    (Department of Civil and Resource Engineering, Dalhousie University, Sexton Campus, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada)

  • Edris Madadian

    (Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

  • Navid Bahrani

    (Department of Civil and Resource Engineering, Dalhousie University, Sexton Campus, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada)

  • Seyed Ali Ghoreishi-Madiseh

    (Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada)

Abstract

Modern data centers are playing a pivotal role in the global economic situation. Unlike high-quality source of waste heat, it is challenging to recover the decentralized and low-quality waste heat sourced from data centers due to numerous technological and economic hurdles. As such, it is of the utmost importance to explore possible pathways to maximize the energy efficiency of the data centers and to utilize their heat recovery. Absorption chiller systems are a promising technology for the recovery of waste heat at ultra-low temperatures. In fact, the low temperature heat discharged from data centers cannot be retrieved with conventional heat recovery systems. Therefore, the present study investigated feasibility of waste heat recovery from data centers using an absorption chiller system, with the ultimate goal of electrical energy production. To fulfill this objective, a techno-economic assessment of heat recovery using absorption chiller (AC) technique for the data centers with power consumption range of 4.5 to 13.5 MW is performed. The proposed AC system enables saving electricity for the value of 4,340,000 kWh/year and 13,025,000 kWh/year leading to an annual reduction of 3068 and 9208 tons CO 2 equivalent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, respectively. The results of this study suggest an optimum change in the design of the data center while reducing the payback period for the investors.

Suggested Citation

  • Leyla Amiri & Edris Madadian & Navid Bahrani & Seyed Ali Ghoreishi-Madiseh, 2021. "Techno-Economic Analysis of Waste Heat Utilization in Data Centers: Application of Absorption Chiller Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-11, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:9:p:2433-:d:542679
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. 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).
    3. Hessam Taherian & Robert W. Peters, 2023. "Advanced Active and Passive Methods in Residential Energy Efficiency," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-19, May.
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    5. Chen, Xiaoxuan & Wang, Xinyi & Ding, Tao & Li, Zhen, 2023. "Experimental research and energy saving analysis of an integrated data center cooling and waste heat recovery system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 352(C).

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