Bomb shelter turned data center to heat Helsinki homes

One wouldn’t expect to find an example of green computing under Helsinki’s famous Uspenski Cathedral, but that’s exactly where IT firm Academica plans on building a new data center. The facility will not only be housed in an old bomb shelter, but its excess heat will be used to warm up to one thousand flats.

According to Matti Roto of Academica, only 40% of energy consumed by a data center actually goes towards computing. In the UK, 3% of all energy produced goes towards these computing powerhouses. Take into account how fast data centers are expanding, and you’ll see why it makes sense to make them more efficient. If Academica can sell energy that would otherwise be wasted to heat homes, it will cut costs significantly and put itself a big step ahead of the competition.

Source | Times Online
Photo | Flickr