From heating swimming pools to vertical farms, data centres are proving useful. But is it enough?

When the high tech world of data centres touches the fabric of public life, it’s generally given positive coverage. From warming a swimming pool in Devon to keeping students in Dublin toasty, these data processing hubs get good press when they pass on the heat they generate. The heat radiates from the servers (stacks of computers) inside them. As energy bills soar, there’s obvious interest in recouping this otherwise wasted energy. One study has even estimated that the excess heat from data centres and other sites and appliances could power most of Europe. On the other hand, we’re increasingly…

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