NEW DELHI, May 19 -- A new study conducted in the US' hottest city Phoenix suggests that waste heat released from data centres can increase air temperatures in downwind neighbourhoods by as much as 4 degrees Fahrenheit, or 2.2 degrees Celsius.
Waste heat produced by a single data centre can surpass the amount emitted by 40,000 households in the US, according to lead author David Sailor, professor and director of Arizona State University's school of geographical sciences and urban planning.
Air-cooled condenser arrays - which condense turbine exhaust steam - can discharge air heated to 14-25 degrees Fahrenheit (about 8-14 degrees Celsius) above the surrounding air temperature, creating thermal plumes that move downwind over neighbouring ar...