Waste heat from data centers can boost air temperatures in downwind neighborhoods by as much as 4 degrees Fahrenheit, researchers at Arizona State University report in a new study conducted in the Phoenix metro area, the hottest in the U.S.
Turning waste heat into electricity is a very old goal but it really does come up against problems with entropy fast. Basically if you have a LOT of heat in one place you can boil a great deal of water and make electricity. If you have a lot of heat spread over a wide area there’s no good way to “herd” it together enough to boil water in appreciable amounts.
Turning waste heat into electricity is a very old goal but it really does come up against problems with entropy fast. Basically if you have a LOT of heat in one place you can boil a great deal of water and make electricity. If you have a lot of heat spread over a wide area there’s no good way to “herd” it together enough to boil water in appreciable amounts.