How can the heat in the data center not be wasted?

Cloud is a real place. The photos you posted on Instagram, the birthday wishes you posted on Facebook, and the TV programs you played on Netflix didn't suddenly appear. They are stored in a large number of servers, all of which are placed in huge warehouses and connected with each other.

Few people venture into these data centers. But in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, Biba entered such a maze of information and found that they were more than just places for hosting data. All the heat provided by these data centers can help heat this city with a population of more than 900,000.

According to the BBC, with the coming of winter, people are looking forward to heating as soon as possible. However, people's online activities will contribute to heating in the future. When BBC reporter Irene Bibba visited Sweden a few days ago, she witnessed an ambitious and profitable new green energy project.

So, how did Sweden do it? Can it create a new business model for the global technology industry?

Wandering around these data centers, you will notice several things: the air is cool and dry, and there is no dust. Rows of server towers are covered by thousands of flashlights, and almost no one can be seen. Looking through the ceiling and raised floor, there are cables extending in all directions everywhere. But more importantly, it's really noisy here. This is because the computer will get hot during operation, and many fans are needed to keep the temperature low enough to ensure its normal work.

Imagine that your laptop generates thousands of times as much heat as the whole warehouse. After all, there are thousands of computers connected to each other, running constantly and completing complex tasks. The main cooling methods include providing cold water, using fans to cool air and absorbing hot air. This heat is usually disposed of as waste. But in fact, heat is also a kind of energy. That's why Sweden decided to use it to provide heat for people.

Cities all over the world are exploring how to use the waste heat of data centers as extra energy.

In Stockholm, this project is called "Stockholm Data Park" and is jointly operated by the municipal government, Fortum Varme (local heating and cooling institution) and other institutions. All the major data centers in Stockholm are involved, and the number is growing as more and more enterprises hope to enhance their reputation by strengthening climate awareness and make money through new business models. Recently, Ericsson and clothing retail chain H&; The data center operated by M has also joined the project.

For most of Stockholm, the data park project works like this: cold water flows into the data center through pipes, where it is used to make cold air to prevent the server from overheating. The water heated in the cooling process flows back into the pipeline, enters Fortum Varme's factory, and disperses to provide heat for many houses.

Sweden is not the only country trying this idea. Similar experiments exist in small-scale projects in Finland and elsewhere. Since last year, the heat from a data center in Finland has been used to heat houses in small towns. The United States, Canada and France all have similar projects. It's just that Sweden's decision to expand its scale nationwide is an unprecedented experiment.

Fortum, a Swedish refrigeration and heating agency, has just introduced a new heating device, which can help to heat homes.

It is estimated that by 2065,438+08, the heat generated by Stockholm Data Park will be enough to heat 2,500 residential apartments. However, its long-term goal is to meet 65,438+00% of the total heating demand in Stockholm by 2035. The Swedish Data Center (promoting the Stockholm Data Park project nationwide) claims that it only needs to generate 65,438+00 MW of energy to meet the heating overture of 20,000 modern houses. Facebook data center usually consumes 120 MW of energy.

The main motivation for joining the Stockholm project comes from economic benefits, and these data centers can sell their waste heat. At the same time, Fortum also provided them with free cold water. Interxion is a company that supports mobile game applications and other cloud computing software in its data center. According to the relevant cost/benefit analysis, the company has a good prospect, so they are building a brand-new heat capture facility. "This is not charity," said Matz Nelson Hahn, the company's business development director. Instead, Peder Bank, managing director of the Nordic branch of the company, said, "We are trying to turn it into a secondary business."

Nevertheless, Interxion still openly shares their new business model project plan with any data center that wants to open a shop in Stockholm. When asked why he wanted to disclose his competitive advantage, Bank emphasized the Swedish attitude towards climate change. He said, "There are other goals that are bigger than competition. This is a global goal. If I can protect the higher agenda and continue to maintain the business, I should do so. If I can attract other companies, I should, and then I will compete with them. After all, we all live on the same planet. "

Data centers covered with cables emit a lot of heat, which is used to heat homes.

Sweden has always supported this concept of green energy. Bjorn Hugosson, climate manager of Stockholm, said that this is because the country has almost no natural resources. He said: "There are no fossil resources on our land. We don't have oil wells or coal mines. " According to the data of the World Energy Council, there are currently 2,057 hydropower stations in Sweden, accounting for 40% of its total energy consumption. Most of the surplus energy comes from nuclear energy, but it is being phased out. In addition, there are coal-fired power plants in Sweden, whose coal is imported from Russia and will be eliminated in the next five years (or possibly in 2020). The country hopes to completely avoid using fossil fuels by 2040.

Sweden has always been known for its zero waste. Swedish residents recycle more than 99% of their domestic garbage, and only 3% of them are finally thrown into landfills. Sweden burns about 70% garbage to produce energy, and imports garbage from neighboring countries to help achieve the goal of "burning garbage to meet energy demand". In other words, Swedes are not the most environmentally friendly energy users in the world. This title belongs to Iceland, where 86% of energy comes from renewable resources. Although in good weather conditions, Sweden can completely avoid using fossil fuels on some days. Because windmills can generate a lot of energy, Sweden's neighbor Denmark can often avoid using fossil fuels. In fact, Denmark also sells surplus energy to neighboring countries.

The data center is connected with the computer network, which allows us to use the Internet and services based on cloud computing platform, but more cities also use it as energy.

So, will Sweden's ambitious heat energy capture and reuse plan succeed elsewhere? Maybe, but it needs other changes to become a reality. This model works in Sweden, because the citizens of this country rely on the government to provide them with hot water for heating. "District heating" began in Stockholm in 1950s (then relying on oil), and Fortum Varme began to deliver hot water to hospitals. When the oil crisis broke out in the 1970s, the heating system was extended to all parts of the country. Today, Fortum provides heat for about 654.38+200,000 buildings or 90% of the urban area of Stockholm. At first, the heating service they provided was generated by burning coal, but today it comes from biofuel, the wood pulp left over from the country's huge forestry industry, and is transported to Stockholm by ship.

Because Swedes recycle everything, they also reuse hot water after wastewater is discharged. Jonas Collet, director of media relations at Fortum, said: "When taking a bath, the hot water flowing into the sewer will be treated and then pumped into the sea. The sea is getting warmer, but fish don't like this environment. Thirty years ago, we thought it was a waste. Now, we can reuse the water. "

Therefore, if other cities want to emulate Stockholm, they need to build underground pipeline infrastructure and a business model of heating residents. But this is not impossible. Many cities in the world are doing this, including Canadian, new york and almost all Icelandic cities. But it should not be regarded as a panacea. Bonor Nomak, a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and a smart grid consultant for many green energy companies, warned that he thought the Swedish plan might not expand indefinitely. In the end, the country may not need more data centers to join in.

Nomak said, "People overestimate the demand for heat, and we will have extra heat. We can export electricity, but we can't export heat. " However, he added: "In Stockholm, this method works because the city is developing rapidly and heat has been monetized."

When new data centers begin to appear in this fast-growing city, they can join in quickly. Stockholm Data Park consists of four major data parks around the city, which are connected to the clean energy grid and equipped with plug-and-play equipment, allowing companies to connect to the cooling water supply system and thermal circulation system. At present, the first project has been completed, which is the local "Silicon Valley" called Kista Community. At present, the data centers of Interxion and other companies are hosted here. Two more data parks will be put into use in 20 18, and four more will be put into use in 20 19. All data centers need to be set up and then added to the existing network.

"We are changing the economy of the whole industry," said Johan Borje, director of cooling and heat recovery in Fortum Varme market data center. In addition, the Swedish government also realized the benefits of this plan, and reduced the electricity bill of the data center this year. Obviously, Sweden does not want data centers to find excuses to move to other parts of Europe.

Nevertheless, developed countries still rely on data centers, and this demand will continue to grow. Without them, our equipment will not work properly and our information will not move. This means that more and more "science and technology libraries" will appear on this planet. They can keep our digital world running while recycling garbage and producing clean energy in Scandinavia and beyond.