An eco-efficient data centre opens in Helsinki

A new data centre in central Helsinki is air conditioned by district cooling, and the waste heat generated by the electronic equipment is recovered and used as district heat. The centre is projected to be the world’s most eco-efficient.

The 2 MW data centre has been developed jointly by the ITC service provider Academica and the City of Helsinki energy company Helsingin Energia. The centre operates in an underground hall built into the Helsinki bedrock underneath Uspenski Cathedral.

Cooling of the centre is provided by Helsingin Energia as part of its standard district cooling system, which utilizes cold seawater, the heat content of treated wastewater, and surplus heat from power plants. The system features approximately five times higher energy efficiency than building-specific cooling systems.

Cooling at standard data centres typically consumes as much energy as the computing. The efficiency factor of the new data centre (ratio of total energy to energy used for computing) is approximately 1 or lower, while that of conventional data centres is between 1.5 and 2.

The heat produced by the data centre’s electronic equipment is recovered and conducted via a heat pump into Helsingin Energia’s district heat network. At full capacity, the recovered heat is equal to the heating energy required by 500 single family houses. Capacity at the centre could be expanded to 5 MW.

Helsingin Energia foresees opportunities for similar new data centres in Helsinki, based on the company’s extensive district heat and cooling network under the city, as well as Helsinki’s large number of underground facilities built into the city’s bedrock. Placement of data centres underground brings many benefits in addition to easy access to the network.

Find out more from Helsingin Energia.