A data center's efficiency encompasses the energy consumption it reduces and the energy it can harness. Thermal management broadens this perspective by connecting digital infrastructure with buildings, heating networks, and other nearby energy uses.

For years, much of the debate on energy efficiency in data centers (DCs) has centered on PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness), which compares the total energy consumed by the facility to the energy used by IT equipment. Improving PUE remains a priority, especially in high-density, 24/7 facilities, where cooling accounts for a significant portion of auxiliary energy consumption.

In this area, the technologies represented by AFEC take on particular importance. Close control units, cooling and air management systems, heat pumps, heat recovery systems, and building automation and control systems (BACS) make it possible to adjust temperatures, flow rates, and operating conditions to the data center’s actual needs, thereby preventing failures and unplanned downtime and optimizing its thermal management.

In addition, nearly all the electricity consumed by IT equipment is ultimately converted into heat. Air-conditioning systems must remove this heat to maintain proper operating conditions, but that heat can also be turned into a resource. If it is recovered at a usable temperature and there is a nearby demand for it, it can be used for heating, hot water, district heating networks, or specific processes, both within the data center and in surrounding buildings.

Thermal circularity requires a comprehensive analysis of temperature and heat availability, the proximity of heat consumers, and the temporal alignment between generation and demand. When the temperature level is insufficient, heat pumps can raise the temperature and expand the possibilities for utilization. BACS and advanced control systems can also coordinate production, recovery, storage, and demand.

Europe has already incorporated this approach into its regulations. The Energy Efficiency Directive[1] expressly provides for the recovery of waste heat from data centers when it is technically and economically feasible, while the European sustainability framework[2] includes energy reuse among its performance indicators.

AFEC believes that data center efficiency should be viewed from a broader perspective than just PUE. Efficient cooling, air management, control systems, heat recovery, and heat pumps make it possible to integrate digital infrastructure with its energy environment and move toward greater thermal circularity.

[1] Directive (EU) 2023/1791 of the European Parliament and of the Council of September 13, 2023, on energy efficiency and amending Regulation (EU) 2023/955

[2] Directive (EU) 2023/1791 of the European Parliament and of the Council of September 13, 2023, on energy efficiency and amending Regulation (EU) 2023/955