Helsingin Energia awarded for energy-efficient data centre technology
Helsingin Energia Helsingin Energia’s technology heats up the city’s buildings with heat produced by data centersaHelsingin Energia has received prestigious recognition by the international IT sector for its energy-efficient operation. The 2010 Uptime Institute Green Enterprise IT Award was granted for technology created by Helsingin Energia, which innovatively uses heat generated by computers for heating buildings and domestic water. The award was presented at the annual Uptime Institute Symposium in New York.
Helsingin Energia won the category 'Beyond the Data Center'. The entries were IT sector projects that save energy in significant business areas at the level of the whole organization. The IT sector competition was organized by the internationally renowned independent think tank and research body Uptime Institute. Applications for the Awards were evaluated by an independent panel of expert judges selected by the Institute.
The first solution utilizing this concept was implemented in partnership with the ICT service company Academica Oy. Academica Oy's data center is situated in Helsinki, in cave premises in the Uspenski bedrock, where the heat produced by the computers is piped into the district heating network to heat up buildings and domestic water in Helsinki. The computers are cooled by district cooling produced by heat pumps, cold seawater and thermal energy from energy generation that would otherwise be wasted. In terms of energy efficiency, the data center is top-class in the world.
Helsingin Energia aims to expand the data center technology, since operators both at home and abroad have also expressed an interest in eco-efficient data center operation. At its current capacity, Helsingin Energia can direct 100 megawatts of district cooling to data centers. This volume would be equivalent to district heating output capable of heating a town of 30,000 inhabitants.
- Eco-efficient data centers can save a considerable volume in electric energy and utilize wasted heat. It is possible that in the future, a significant proportion of the buildings in Helsinki will be heated by thermal energy generated by data centers, says Project Manager Juha Sipilä.
