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Data centers can reuse heat by capturing warmth from servers, transferring it into a separate water loop, and using a heat pump when necessary to raise it to a temperature that a nearby building or district-heating network can use. Insulated pipes carry the heat to its destination. The process works best when the data center has a steady heat supply, a nearby user with matching demand, and infrastructure that can accept the heat—without compromising the facility’s cooling or computing reliability.
What happens to the energy used by a data center?
Servers and other computing equipment use electricity to process data. Nearly all of that electricity eventually becomes heat, which cooling systems must remove to keep equipment within safe operating conditions. The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre reported in 2020 that over 98% of energy consumed in a data center is eventually dissipated as waste heat. That figure describes heat dissipation; it does not mean 98% can be captured, delivered to a customer at a useful temperature, or sold economically. European Commission Joint Research Centre, 2020.
In a conventional facility, cooling equipment moves this heat out of the building and rejects it to the surrounding environment. A heat-reuse system adds equipment and a connection so some of that thermal energy can serve another purpose. The data center still needs dependable cooling; supplying heat is secondary to protecting the computing equipment.
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How does the heat-reuse process work?
- Cooling collects heat from computing equipment. Fans move warm air away from servers, or liquid cooling carries heat away from chips and other components. The exact source temperature depends on the cooling system and operating conditions.
- A heat exchanger transfers the energy. Warm air or cooling water heats a separate circuit, typically keeping the data center’s cooling loop distinct from the loop serving the customer. The exchanger transfers heat; it does not by itself raise its temperature.
- A heat pump lifts the temperature when needed. It uses electricity to move heat from a lower-temperature source to a higher-temperature delivery circuit. The greater the required temperature increase, the more important it is to evaluate the heat pump’s performance and electricity use for the project’s actual conditions.
- Pipes and controls connect the source to its user. Insulated pipework carries the heat to a building or district network. Pumps, valves and controls manage the flow and temperatures at the connection; the receiving system must be able to accept them.
- Storage or backup supply can help balance operation. A buffer or larger thermal store can hold heat for later use. Other heat sources may still be needed when demand exceeds the data center’s supply or when the timing does not match.
The International Energy Agency notes that heat pumps in district-heating systems can use waste-heat sources below 45°C. This is a statement about possible source temperatures, not a guaranteed efficiency, output or financial result for a particular installation. Performance depends on conditions such as source and delivery temperatures, equipment and electricity supply. IEA, “Heat pumps in district heating and cooling systems”.
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Why are heat pumps often necessary?
Heat leaving a data center may be warm enough for some nearby uses but too cool for a conventional district-heating network or a building’s heating system. A heat pump raises the temperature so the receiving system can use the energy. The heat exchanger and heat pump do different jobs: one transfers heat between circuits, while the other upgrades its temperature using electricity.
One design described in the IEA District Heating and Cooling implementation guide illustrates how substantial that lift can be. In the Braunschweig project design, data-center cooling water at 25°C is cooled to 18°C while a heat pump raises district-heating return water to a 70°C supply temperature. The recovered heat is intended to provide base load for a new residential area of 600 housing units. A connection to the existing network offers flexibility and peak shaving. These are project design details, not standard operating temperatures or a promise that another data center could supply the same number of homes. IEA DHC, Low-Temperature District Heating Implementation Guidebook, 2021.
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Who can use the recovered heat?
The most practical recipient depends on distance, temperature requirements, demand patterns and existing infrastructure. A close building may have a relatively direct connection, while a district-heating network can distribute heat to multiple users if its operating conditions and commercial arrangements allow the connection. An industrial heat user is another possible destination, but its specific process temperature and operating requirements must be checked. There is no universal ranking: the relevant comparison is between a particular data center’s heat profile and a real nearby customer’s needs.
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|---|---|
| Nearby building or development | Whether the building’s heating loop can use the delivered temperature and flow, how far the connection must run, and whether demand coincides with available heat. |
| District-heating network | Whether the network can accept the temperature, flow and return conditions; whether connection capacity is available; and whether the network operator will agree to the technical and commercial terms. |
| Industrial user | Whether a nearby process needs heat at a compatible temperature and on a compatible schedule, and whether a viable connection and supply agreement can be made. |
A short distance is helpful, but proximity alone does not establish feasibility. Existing network temperatures, flow rates, pressure, return temperatures, operating rules, connection costs and heat tariffs all affect whether a buyer can accept the heat. The IEA identifies district heating as an opportunity in the changing energy landscape, while the JRC report discusses technical and contractual acceptance as factors for a heat buyer. IEA, “Opportunities for district heating in the changing energy landscape,” 2025; European Commission Joint Research Centre, 2020.
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How to assess a heat-reuse project
A credible assessment starts with the data center’s actual heat profile and the receiving system’s actual requirements. A theoretical amount of heat in the cooling system is not the same as heat that can be recovered continuously, delivered at a useful temperature and accepted by a customer. The following sequence helps distinguish a promising location from a merely nearby one.
- Characterize the heat source. Establish where heat is available, at what temperatures, and how its amount and temperature vary over time. Do not assume the facility’s full energy use is recoverable or that server load remains constant.
- Identify a real heat user. Determine who would take the heat and what temperature, flow, pressure and schedule the user requires. A building, district network and industrial process can have different requirements.
- Calculate the temperature lift and electricity needs. Compare the source temperature with the delivery temperature. Evaluate heat-pump performance and power use under the project’s operating conditions rather than relying on a general source-temperature threshold.
- Check the physical connection. Measure the route and assess pipework, network access, thermal losses and connection capacity. Confirm that network flow and return-temperature conditions are compatible with the proposed operation.
- Match supply and demand over time. Compare availability with the user’s hourly and seasonal demand. Assess whether a buffer or larger thermal store is worthwhile and what backup heat is needed during peaks or shortfalls.
- Protect independent cooling and computing operations. Design the heat-reuse system so the data center can keep rejecting heat and cooling servers safely if the heat customer, network or heat-recovery equipment is unavailable.
- Agree on commercial and operating responsibilities. Data-center operators, heat-network companies, building owners and energy-service providers need clear arrangements for connection, tariffs, operating duties and risk allocation. Technical feasibility alone does not prove the heat can be sold profitably.
What can prevent recovered heat from being useful?
The heat is too cool for the receiving system
Low-grade heat may not meet a network’s supply-temperature requirement without a heat pump. A larger temperature gap makes heat-pump performance and electricity consumption more important to the project assessment. A low-temperature network or a nearby user that can accept lower-temperature heat may require a smaller lift, but its actual requirements still need to be confirmed.
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- Installation Package Included: Includes indoor air handler, outdoor condenser, remote control, and installation kit with a 16ft. line set and communication wire. Pre-loaded with refrigerant for up to 25 ft. Note: Professional installation required
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The customer is too far away or cannot accept the connection
Longer pipe runs add capital cost and thermal losses. Even a nearby network may have constraints on temperatures, flow, pressure or return conditions, or may lack capacity to accept additional heat. The network operator must be technically and contractually willing to take it.
Supply and demand do not happen at the same time
Data centers can produce heat throughout the year, while space-heating demand often falls in summer. Heat storage can shift some heat from a time of surplus to a time of need. IEA DHC materials describe pit, borehole and aquifer storage as options for storing summer heat for winter use, but storage adds equipment and cost, and winter peak demand may still require other heat sources. IEA DHC, decentralised renewable energy case studies; IEA DHC, InteGradeDH project.
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Server loads or network operation are less predictable than planned
A case study at TU Darmstadt found that available heat was lower and less constant than expected. It also describes network flow below assumptions raising return temperatures, which led to shutdown or inefficient heat-pump operation. The lesson is to design around conservative operating conditions and retain independent ways to cool the servers and reject heat. As the IEA DHC case-study report puts it: “The highest priority for the HPC operator is of course the fail-safe operation of the computer and not the utilization of the waste heat.” This is a case-study lesson, not a statement attributed to a named speaker. IEA DHC case studies.
The economics do not support the connection
Heat pumps and connecting infrastructure require investment, and heat pumps need enough annual operating hours to justify their cost. The project also needs workable agreements among the operator, network or building owner, and other parties involved. A heat stream can be technically recoverable yet have no viable buyer, tariff or allocation of operating risk.
What existing projects and estimates show
Operating examples and modeled potential demonstrate that reuse is possible, but they describe different kinds of evidence and should not be treated as interchangeable.
| Evidence | What it reports | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Stockholm Data Parks; IEA Energy and AI report, 2025 | More than 20 data centers connected to Stockholm’s heating network and 1.5% of system demand met. The report also cites a reduction of 50 g CO₂ per kWh of heat supplied, attributing that emissions figure to Covenant of Mayors (2023). | A reported example for Stockholm, not a universal emissions saving or share that other networks should expect. |
| European proximity and heating-potential estimates; IEA Energy and AI report, 2025 | About 10% of Europe’s building space-heat demand is within 5 kilometres of a data center that is also within a district-heating service area. The report estimates reused data-center heat could meet about 300 TWh of heating demand within a few kilometres by 2030, equivalent to 10% of European space-heating needs. | The 10% proximity finding is a geographic screen, not proof of feasibility. The 300 TWh estimate depends on geography, recovery-rate and heat-pump assumptions; it is potential, not a forecast that every connection will be built or sold. |
| High-temperature heat-pump modeling; Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 2024 | The paper models six configurations for supplying heat up to 120°C and applies them to a case study based on the Frontier high-performance-computing data center. It reports modeled reductions of 33,100–33,200 metric tons of CO₂ per year for a one-megawatt heat pump under its selected assumptions. | These are model results, not measured annual savings from an installed heat pump at Frontier. |
The Stockholm and Europe-wide figures come from the IEA’s 2025 Energy and AI report. IEA, Energy and AI, 2025. The high-temperature modeling is described by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 2024.
Why waste heat can contribute, but not replace a heat system
Data centers can supply useful heat where their output, location and a customer’s needs align. The scale of that contribution depends on the share that can actually be recovered, the temperature a heat pump can deliver, network access and the timing of demand. The IEA’s European estimate is substantial, but it is conditional on those factors; it does not show that data centers can meet most heat demand on their own. A project therefore needs a customer, compatible infrastructure and a plan for the hours when recovered heat is unavailable or insufficient.
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