When artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and blockchain technologies first emerged, collocated servers could handle their computational demands. Today, however, these tools require large-scale facilities dedicated to housing critical data and computation services—data centers (DCs). 

According to researchers from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Villanova University and QuantaCool Associates, the significant quantities of waste heat generated by DCs provide an opportunity. They reported their findings in “Data Center Waste Heat Reuse: An Investment Analysis,” first published in the December 2024 issue of the ASME Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities. Author Aaron Wemhoff addressed the ways to upgrade and reuse the waste heat produced by DCs.