ENERGY EFFICIENT DATA CENTRES


A COOL SOLUTION FOR DATA CENTRES


Mihir Nandkeolyar, director business development Global Data Centre Solutions at Johnson Controls, examines how absorption chillers enable data centres to use wasted energy to power cooling solutions


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n many major markets, data centre operators are contending with connection delays, limits on


deliverable capacity, higher and more volatile energy costs, and growing uncertainty over when (or whether) additional power will arrive. As a result, onsite generation is moving from a contingency option to a core part of campus strategy, with some forecasts suggesting around a third of data centres could be operating as fully onsite- powered campuses by 2030. When you generate electricity onsite, only about 35-50% of the fuel’s energy becomes electrical output, with the remainder left as high-temperature thermal energy. However, instead of dumping that heat, it can be captured and used to drive cooling, effectively turning a by-product into usable capacity. The challenge is how to scale cooling without further loading an already constrained grid.


HEAT TO COOLING Absorption chillers can be used to create a Combined Cooling and Power (CCP) plant. These plants recover otherwise wasted energy from gas turbines, fuel cells or engine-driven generators to power the thermally driven chiller to produce cooling. Absorption chillers are not


new, in fact Johnson Controls deployed YORK absorption systems over a century ago and today have many thousands in operation worldwide. Their use has been common where thermal energy is more easily


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or economically available than electricity. Today’s absorption chillers represent a major leap


Mihir Nandkeolyar


forward in cooling innovation, enhancing reliability and sustainable performance. Modern systems are engineered to maintain optimal operating conditions with ease, ensuring smooth, uninterrupted cooling even in demanding environments. By harnessing a combination of varying grades of waste heat as their energy source, next generation absorption chillers provide a powerful and sustainable alternative to traditional electric cooling, cutting energy and water use, reducing emissions, and helping organisations move toward a cleaner, more efficient future. For this reason, their application at large data centres where vast amounts of high temperature waste heat is abundantly and economically available from onsite generation sources – is ideal. They also deliver significant energy efficiency benefits: for every 2 MW of cooling supplied, an absorption chiller needs only 20 - 25 kW of


“By harnessing a ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS - Summer 2026


electrical input compared to 500 kW or more for an electric chiller. That’s more than an 90% reduction in needed electricity. Absorption chillers use waste heat as the driving


combination of varying grades of waste heat as their energy source, absorption chillers provide a powerful and sustainable alternative to traditional electric cooling”


force for cooling, replacing the mechanical compressor found in traditional refrigeration systems with a thermally driven process. In these systems, the shifting concentration of the absorbent solution is both a powering mechanism and a heat transfer mechanism. Through a coordinated sequence of evaporation, absorption, generation, and condensation – each governed by changes in temperature and pressure – the refrigerant and absorbent circulate to produce chilled water. Absorption chillers can be easily combined with other thermal management technologies if additional cooling demand is needed.


LOOKING TO THE FUTURE


In the future, data centres will be defined by how intelligently they utilise energy, heat and water. Efficient cooling is quickly becoming an enabler for competitiveness in an increasingly


constrained environment. Absorption chillers are reshaping what is possible in real time at onsite-powered data centres. While some operators will remain stuck with


long grid connection delays and rising energy costs, those operators that turn waste heat from a costly by-product into a strategic resource gain a significant edge, becoming more efficient, resilient, and sustainable while delivering greater benefits to their communities. By turning waste heat from a costly by-product


into a strategic resource, operators can become more efficient, resilient and sustainable, and positively impact their communities.


Johnson Controls www.johnsoncontrols.com


www.essmag.co.uk


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