UK-first datacentre tech heating public swimming pools for free
Deep Green announces launch of ‘digital boiler’ technology which transforms the heat from its servers into hot water for local businesses.
British start-up, Deep Green today announces the launch of a UK-first technology that supplies free heat to local businesses and public swimming pools, reducing their energy bills and cutting their reliance on carbon-intensive fossil fuel boilers.
The 'digital boiler' is a cloud datacentre that efficiently transforms the heat from its servers into hot water for local businesses. It is installed on-site at swimming pools or businesses with consistent heat needs, such as bakeries, distilleries, laundrettes and blocks of flats. Best of all, the technology is free of charge for the businesses benefiting from it.
Exmouth Leisure Centre in Devon is the first site in the country to benefit from this heat-recapture. The surplus heat donated to the leisure centre by Deep Green's unit will reduce the pool's gas requirements by 62%, saving them over £20,000 a year and reduce their carbon emissions by 25.8 tonnes.
The technology is immersion cooling, and involves surrounding the servers in the datacentre with oil to capture the heat generated by the equipment. That hot oil is then fed into a heat exchanger and used to heat the pool. Around 96% of the heat generated by a Deep Green ‘digital boiler' is re-cycled.
The installation in Exmouth Leisure Centre contains 12 servers of the highest-grade computer equipment and is able to support a number of computing services such as cloud services, artificial intelligence, machine learning and video rendering.
There are over 1,500 swimming pools in England alone that could benefit from this technology. England has lost 400 public pools since 2010, with 85 being closed since 2019. The huge increase in energy prices following the pandemic and war in Ukraine have drastically increased the energy costs for leisure facilities. Many face the threat of closure due to escalating costs.
Peter Gilpin, CEO of LED Community Leisure (operator of Exmouth Leisure Centre), commented: "Deep Green's innovative technology will dramatically reduce our energy bills and carbon footprint, meaning we will continue to be a key asset for the local community. We are already seeing the benefit. I'm certain this will transform leisure centres up and down the country for the better."
Jane Nickerson, CEO of Swim England, commented: "At a time when so many swimming pools are struggling with massively increased energy bills, it's great to see pools embracing innovative solutions like this which have the potential to support facilities to operate more sustainably, both environmentally and economically."
The installation in Exmouth will soon be followed by further installations in Bristol and Manchester in the coming weeks.
The impact of datacentres on carbon emissions and water supplies is becoming more widely understood. Any technology which can lead to a net reduction in emissions whilst also reducing energy bills is likely to be popular.
Mark Bjornsgaard, CEO of Deep Green emphasised the potential positive impact on the carbon footprint of both the datacentre industry and the community facilities that his technology can enhance. He commented:
"Data is critical to modern society and demand for data centers is growing exponentially. However, this comes at a cost. Current datacentre infrastructure is inefficient, using a huge amount of energy and generating a vast amount of waste heat. Yet, at the same time, there are many businesses that need heat and face increasing energy bills.
"By moving datacentres from industrial warehouses into the hearts of communities, our ‘digital boilers' put waste heat to good use, saving local businesses thousands of pounds on energy bills and reducing their carbon footprint. Pools are just the start and around 30% of all industrial and commercial heat needs could be provided by this technology.
"Organisations that are serious about supporting society and reducing their carbon emissions should not forget the massive impact of their computing needs. Deep Green now provides an answer."
The race is on to find ways to reduce the impact of datacentre cooling. Conscious of the need for a strong ESG profile, hyperscalers are all investing in the development of innovative cooling systems, including the use of waste water for cooling, two-phase liquid cooling and sunken facilities.
You may also like
/sponsored/4336571/orion-revolutionising-uks-fibre-network-planning-survey
Leadership
ORION: Revolutionising UK's Fibre Network planning and Survey
Flagship program will enable faster network planning and building
/podcasts/4333508/national-grid-analogue-digital-ctrl-alt-lead-podcast
Public Sector
National Grid is turning analogue to digital - Ctrl Alt Lead podcast
'We can't do what we've always done, just more efficiently'
/news/4331149/ai-blame-googles-rocketing-greenhouse-gas-emissions
Green
AI to blame for Google's rocketing greenhouse gas emissions
Casts doubt on search giant's 'Net Zero by 2030' goal