Data Center Water Energy Recovery (OR-16-C036)

ASHRAE is aiming for buildings to achieve net-zero energy use, including energy-intensive mission critical facilities, by the year 2030.  The design methods to achieve this goal are aiming to be in place in less than 5 years, by 2020. There is a need to ensure designers can choose the most beneficial options available.  Often data center heat is considered a bane, and water source energy recovery is not an option because the heat rejection and distribution is limited by physical, monetary and temperature aspects.  However, opportunities are becoming more available for new and existing facilities as data center densities and water cooling temperatures move steadily higher. This paper reviews the potential benefits of operating with higher water temperatures and finding means to couple alternative systems as heat sinks for modern data centers.