Inspired Heating In Helsinki

Inspired Heating In Helsinki

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In today's energy market, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't support the use of sustainable resources. In Finland, however, a large step is being taken in what might be an unlikely spot. Water is being used to cool vast collections of computers; that's hardly a new idea. However, that warm water can then go on to heat buildings and, once it has cooled again, be returned to its first task.

The basement of Helsinki's Orthodox Uspenski Cathedral has become a prime location for this new trend in green computing, thanks to the efforts of an IT company called Academica. They've established a new 2MW server centre in the World War II bomb shelter that lies beneath the cathedral's heavy walls. Originally intended to hold city officials and protect them from Russian attack, the shelter now houses racks upon racks of hot, energy-hungry computer gear.

Such data centres are springing around the world as companies put increasing focus on online data storage. The push for less paperwork may save trees, but the data centres themselves use a lot of power. This has caused some concern over the true 'green-ness' of online data storage. For example, data centres account for 2% of all the electricity used in Britain. Power consumption aside, at least Academica has found a practical use for energy that would otherwise be wasted.

Waste heat from data centres has never been applied on such a large scale of practicality. In a country where winter temperatures can reach -20 degree Centigrade, heat is an extremely useful commodity. Data centres have been used for heating parking lots and other small-scale applications, but according to Academica's head of sales, "no one has conducted the heat towards a central heating system."

Anyone who has ever put his or her computer through a vigorous session knows that they can get quite hot. With hundreds of units kept together in an enclosed space, cooling is often the most energy intensive and costly part of a server farm's operation. With the help of Helsinki's energy company, Helsingen Energia, Academica has built a system that transfers the heat to the district's heating system via Helsinki's vast network of underground tunnels.

The data centre has only been operational for a few weeks, and Helsinki has already been able to lower output from conventional stations. The heated water that leaves the basement of Uspenski Cathedral will be used to heat approximately 500 homes, or up to 1,000 smaller flats. The scheme looks promising for future applications as well; Academica has plans to build another data centre in Helsinki. This one will be ten times larger and provide heat to more areas of the city.

About the Author:
Marcus Gallon writes articles on home energy news including environmental issues, energy security and the renewables sector.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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