In the battle against Climate Change, many are looking for the proverbial "silver bullet" that will solve all the world's energy problems at once.
Whether it's ethanol from corn or fusion nuclear reactors, much of the public expects to power their cars and homes on "the gasoline of tomorrow" made from some inexhaustible and carbon-free resource that is easy and abundant.
While that is a great goal, it is looking less likely as time goes on. In reality, our future is looking increasingly electric, with a number of alternative energy projects like solar, geothermal, wind, hydrothermal, and nuclear plants teaming up together to power the growing energy needs of the world.
The good news is as the power structure becomes less centralized, more innovative inventions will sprout up, moving us further towards efficiently using the power we already produce. And the Europeans aren't waiting for us. They are already taking steps to make sure they are ready long before American's even notice we are running out of oil...
"The Helsinki Heathers"
In Helsinki, -20 degrees is not an uncommon reading to see on the thermometer. Add on the fact that it's -20 degrees Celcius, and you know it's cold. That means that when energy prices are high, heating homes can be an expensive and difficult prospect for Finnish families.
Proving invention is the product of necessity, Helsingin Energia, a utilities provider in the Nordic capital, has come up with an innovative way to use the energy they already use to the fullest.
Helsingin Energia (HE) is going to use a new heating and cooling pump to recycle excess heat from a large data center to generate serious amounts of energy.
The data center is being built in an old bomb shelter connected directly to HE's direct heating system — a set of pumps that move boiling water through a system of pipes to heat homes around the city.
How It Works
First, cold water is pumped through the data center to cool the servers; this warmer water is then drawn into a large pump, where it is then further heated to boiling temperatures.
Once the water is hot enough to actually heat a building, it is pumped through buried pipes to Helsinki's residential districts to heat homes.
It is then pumped back to the server room to restart the cycle.
This system is extremely efficient, as it is 5 times cheaper than traditional energy sources. The idea is that you have hot air that needs to be cooled in the data center in close proximity to cold air (inside residential spaces) that needs to be heated.
By using water as the transport medium, Helsingin Energia can provide more energy at a cheaper price.
Putting It Into Perspective
This technology is not limited to Helsinki though. Not in the least. In fact, the people at Helsingin Energia want business leaders worldwide to know that this technology can be applied in a variety of settings and can be installed on a mass scale.
When you consider that about .5% of the world's total energy use is dedicated solely to cooling IT servers, you can see how much power could be saved by making this type of HVAC system smarter.
It's innovations like these that almost seem too simple. There are no overly-complex power transfer locations or new infrastructures to install; rather, people have found a way to use the power they are already producing in the smartest and most efficient way.
The simple and proven principle of using water as a medium for exchanging heat proves to save a frozen city millions of euro, while looking to the future to protect the environment. And, as Americans look to address our own energy issues, one can only hope that our leaders look to Europe's success as a model for our own infrastructure's development.
Source:energyandcapital.com/
