Revolutionizing district heating: Munters role in data center heat reuse

Munters is making it possible for district heating providers to reuse heat from data centers. Its expertise in cooling and heat recovery supports the largest heat reuse initiative in the world.

There is a growing trend among data center operators in Europe to reuse waste heat, and Munters is playing a key role in making it happen.

On Funen, Denmark’s third largest island, a multinational technology company runs a data center that provides heating to nearly 11,000 households in the city of Odense.

Thanks to Munters indirect evaporative cooling system, Oasis, which features an integrated heat exchanger, it effectively captures waste heat from the server halls while maintaining optimal indoor conditions. The captured heat is transferred to a central heat pump facility, where it is used to heat water to temperatures suitable for district heating.

Munters experts believe Europe will see many more projects like these in the coming years.

“As new European regulations require data centers to capture more waste heat, we’ll see increased urban planning around these facilities,” says Craig MacFadyen, Director of Offer Strategy & Portfolio Management at Munters. “Heat can’t be transported far without significant loss, so ideal candidates for reuse include hospitals and some industrial facilities. With larger installations like the one in Odense, we can provide energy to large towns.”

MacFadyen notes that the multinational technology company, like many others dependent on data center operations, is fully committed to sustainability.

“They are at the forefront of energy efficiency,” he adds. “We share that vision at Munters and are always pushing the boundaries of innovation to maximize performance.”

How Munters supports the data center in Odense:

• Captures Excess Heat: Efficiently captures and converts waste heat from the data center into usable energy.
• Optimizes Energy Use: Reduces the overall cooling energy consumption of the data center by up to 80% through advanced cooling and climate control technologies.
• Enhances Sustainability: Contributes to the local community’s energy needs by supplying heat to the district heating system, thereby reducing reliance on traditional heating sources and lowering carbon emissions.

Learn more about how we work with the data center industry.