Underwater Data Center Going Swimmingly

R. Pritchard

Summary Bullets:

• A mini edge data center is being used to heat a public swimming pool in Devon, southwest of England (UK).

• Innovation is symptomatic of how sustainability issues – and marketing opportunities – can be addressed using imagination and technology.

UK company Deep Green is heating a public swimming pool in Devon (UK) with a ‘washing machine-sized’ edge data center. The data center’s computers are surrounded by oil to capture heat, which then is passed by convection/heat exchanger into the swimming pool and heated to about 30 degrees Centigrade. The pool, run by the local (Exmouth) council, gets the heat for free, and Deep Green and its customers can rest knowing they are contributing to dealing with climate challenges and supporting a free-of-charge municipal service. Seven further municipal pools have subsequently signed up for the service in the face of multiple swimming pool closures as a result of energy costs.