Η Γερμανία θέλει να αναγκάσει τα κέντρα δεδομένων που καταναλώνουν ενέργεια να take advantage of the excess heat for home heating – an effort that the industry warns is likely to go down well.
The country has become one of the largest global hubs for data centers thanks to its strict data protection and security laws. The country's politicians are therefore trying to reuse some of the controversial excess heat to improve efficiency in light of the energy crisis.
While in theory it's a very innovative way to reduce the industry's huge carbon footprint, experts have pointed out a flaw in the government's proposal that may be approved this month:
The hot air expelled from server farms is not as hot as that required by most heating networks.
This means that any utility that tries to adopt the concept will have to invest in heat pumps to bring the "warm" air to usable levels, further increasing costs and energy use.
What's at stake for Europe's biggest economy is that it risks scaring off IT investment.
The energy efficiency law being prepared by the government aims to save about 500 terawatt hours of energy by 2030, which is partly linked to the requirement to reuse at least 30% of the heat of a new data center by 2025.
