A public swimming pool in Devon is now being heated by the warmth generated by a washing-machine-sized data center, providing significant cost savings to the Exmouth Leisure Centre. The data center uses oil to capture the heat the computers produce inside the box. This heat is enough to keep the pool at a comfortable 30 degrees Celsius for around 60% of the time, which has saved the center thousands of pounds.
The good news for the council-run center is that the data center is being provided free of charge by a start-up called Deep Green. The company charges clients to use its computing power for artificial intelligence and machine learning. As part of the deal, Deep Green founder Mark Bjornsgaard has also promised to refund the leisure center’s electricity costs for running what he calls the “digital boiler.” Seven other public swimming pools across England have signed up for the scheme, and it is expected that more will follow.
The concept is relatively straightforward and has been in development for five years. The hot oil from the data center is pumped into a heat exchanger, which warms the water in the pool. Sean Day, who runs the Exmouth Leisure Centre, said that he initially expected energy bills to rise by £100,000 ($107,040) this year.
Mark Bjornsgaard said,
“The partnership has really helped us reduce the costs of what has been astronomical over the last 12 months – our energy prices and gas prices have gone through the roof,”
He added more,
“Looking at different ways of how we can save money as an organization has been awesome.”
chief executive Jane Nickerson of Swim England expressed his joy with,
“It was good to see pools “embracing innovative solutions.”
Critical Thoughts Over This Solution
According to Dr. Julian Allwood, a professor of engineering and the environment at Cambridge University, if the idea of using the heat generated by a data center to heat a public swimming pool makes sense and saves money, then it’s worth pursuing. He also noted that data centers tend to use less energy than what has been reported in the past.
However, it’s important to note that larger data centers require billions of gallons of water and millions of pounds to keep cool. Some of them are even built-in unconventional places, such as underwater, in caves, or in extremely cold regions.
On the other hand, in Danish and Swedish cities, massive data centers powering thousands of homes. This shows that data centers can have a positive impact on the environment and can be used in innovative ways to benefit society.
Final Words
According to Mr. Bjornsgaard, data centers face a significant challenge when managing heat. A considerable portion of the expenses of running a data center goes towards addressing this issue.
However, Mr. Bjornsgaard and his Deep Green team have devised an innovative solution. By using this innovative solution, they can heat a public swimming pool. In this way, they will be able to reduce the overall costs of running the data center while also providing a valuable service to the community.
