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By some measures, Phoenix is the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>hottest metropolitan area in the U.S.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>, with temperatures forecast to be <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>above 100 degrees<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> for much of this summer, according to AccuWeather.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Each one-degree increase in temperature will drive a higher use of air conditioning, which in turn will put more heat into the area, creating \u201ca feedback loop,\u201d the research states. \u201cData center operations [could] raise the energy burden on surrounding neighborhoods, precisely during the extended summer cooling season,\u201d according to the report.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n To measure the temperature impacts of data centers, the researchers equipped cars with sensors and had them drive upwind and downwind of four data centers to measure the differences. The data centers ranged from 36 megawatts and 169 megawatts. All of them used primarily air-based cooling systems.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAverage downwind air temperatures [were] 0.7\u20130.9 \u00b0C warmer than corresponding upwind areas,\u201d or 1.26 \u2013 1.62 degrees F, the report states. Downwind air temperature warmed as high as 2.2 degrees Celsius, or about 4 degrees F.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Although there was a measurable increase, the outcome remains anecdotal, <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Sailor said in an interview<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> with AI Generation in late March, before the study was published. \u201cIt\u2019s highly dependent on a number of factors,\u201d he said. \u201cWind direction, wind speeds, the turbulence intensity in the atmosphere itself. So, [it\u2019s] different in the morning and overnight hours than it is during the daytime, when there’s a lot more of what we call mechanical turbulence mixing the heat vertically.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The impact of heat generated from buildings generally is not that great, Sailor told AI Generation. When building heat is added to heat generated by cars and industrial processes, there\u2019s a measurable impact on area temperatures, but it\u2019s not as much as some people might think, he said. \u201cIt\u2019s typically on the order of 10 to 20 watts per square meter,\u201d he said. Solar radiation during peak summer, by contrast, is about 1,000 watts per square meter at midday.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n But when the measurement shifts to energy-intensive buildings, he said, there\u2019s a difference in \u201cmagnitudes,\u201d about 100 watts per square meter.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The effect becomes even greater when data centers are factored in, he said. \u201cFor a good-sized data center, you can have waste heat emissions on the order of 2,000 to 6,000 watts per square meter,\u201d he said. A 30 megawatt data center \u201cessentially puts as much energy into the environment as 25,000 or 35,000 homes. But it\u2019s in a concentrated area [of] maybe 20 homes. So just imagine that intensity.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Sailor outlined a handful of steps facilities can take to reduce the impact of the thermal plume.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Sailor didn\u2019t address the growing <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>use of liquid cooling systems<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>, which submerge computing systems in water or a chemical bath and <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>release less heat<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n