VENTILATION & HEAT RECOVERY
www.heatingandventilating.net The data centre next door
With the UK government’s AI Growth Zones promising to transform regions across the country, the question arises: is having a data centre as a neighbour a good thing for the environment and local communities? The answer should be ‘yes’, says Tim Mitchell from Klima-Therm - properly planned and managed data centres can bring a wealth of positives to the surrounding area
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he traditional image of a data centre is of a power-hungry facility, wasting energy and water to feed our insatiable need for the internet, in particular AI, which has a well- documented reputation of being resource intensive. A move towards more effi cient cooling solutions, such as utilising ‘free’ cooling, while ensuring data centres give back to the communities they sit alongside, mean this stereotype is rapidly becoming outdated. Today’s data centres are being designed for reciprocity: they are built to share resources, support local economies, and integrate with the services around them.
One of the most signifi cant opportunities for this reciprocity lies in heat recovery. Data centres generate vast amounts of heat as a byproduct of their operations. Rather than letting this go to waste, innovative facilities are capturing and redistributing it to neighbouring buildings. Not only does this approach contribute to wider decarbonisation eff orts, but it also improves the overall energy effi ciency of the data centre and helps to off set operational costs.
Heat recovery essentials
In modern data centres, the thermal output from IT equipment is a consistently high-grade source of low-temperature heat, typically between 30–35°C
Data centre cooling and heat recovery in action
Klima-Therm’s data centre HVAC product partner, Engie, has supplied nine air-cooled QUANTUM chiller incorporating free cooling, seven SPECTRUM heat pumps and three QUANTUM Air chillers with Green Heat Recovery (GHR) as part of an edge data centre project in Germany. The GHR enables waste heat from the cooling process to be used by the locality, while also reducing energy consumption by 60% across the ten sites. Benefi tting from fast start technology, in the event of a power failure, cooling is back up and running within three minutes.
The SPECTRUM water heat pump delivers outlet hot water at 650 and utilises low GWP refrigerant R-1234ze, further enhancing carbon reduction.
on the air side and up to 60°C with direct liquid cooling. This can be boosted to around 80°C using high temperature heat pumps, making it viable for a range of applications both domestically and commercially. For network designers and installers, the
key considerations include hydraulic separation between data centre and district circuits, redundancy in heat exchanger and pump selection, and the integration of controls for dynamic heat demand response. The system design should also account for the potential use of modular heat interface units (HIUs) at the point of delivery, and the adoption of smart metering for performance monitoring and billing.
Global success stories
Across Europe and beyond, there are already successful examples of data centre heat recovery in action. In Denmark, several data centres are connected to district heating networks, supplying thousands of homes. In Stockholm, the city’s ‘Stockholm Data Parks’ initiative encourages data centres to feed their excess heat into the municipal grid, helping the city achieve its ambitious climate goals.
24 March 2026
Closer to home, UK projects are beginning to follow suit. Forward-thinking operators are partnering with local authorities and utility companies to design data centres that serve as both digital infrastructure and community heating providers. Examples include the £36 million Old Oak and Park Royal (OPDC) project in London (10,000+ homes) and the Milton Keynes University Hospital network (20,000 homes equivalent).
Beyond heat: jobs and infra- structure
The benefi ts of a local data centre extend well beyond heat recovery. Construction and operation of these facilities create skilled jobs, both directly and through the wider supply chain. Data centres drive investment in local infrastructure, from power and connectivity upgrades to improved roads and public transport links. Data centres also attract other technology businesses to the area, creating innovation hubs and supporting regional economic growth. The presence of a data centre can be a catalyst for regeneration, breathing new life into underused industrial sites and supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy. AI growth zone sites are all in de-industrialised areas, such as the North East of England and South Wales, utilising existing infrastructure to accelerate development while providing a real opportunity for regions of the UK often overlooked when it comes to investment.
Designing for reciprocity
To unlock these benefi ts, the modern data centre must be designed with reciprocity in mind. This means engaging with local stakeholders from the outset, understanding community needs, and building partnerships that deliver shared value. It also requires a commitment to sustainability, with operators investing in energy effi ciency, renewable power, and circular economy principles.
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