Swedish data center with zero environmental impact will heat local households

The companies Falu Energi & Vatten and EcoDC AB have launched the construction of the world's first data center with zero environmental impact. In any case, the developers are positioning their project this way. Partners also promise that their data center, called EcoDataCenter, will enter the top twenty of the world's safest data centers. During the construction of EcoDataCenter, it is planned to use equipment from Schneider Electric, which will ensure the implementation of energy-efficient solutions in the infrastructure of the facility.

It is worth noting that at the moment the ICT sector requires about 10% of the total energy generated in the world. Despite the introduction of energy-efficient equipment, data centers are becoming more and more expensive, because a data center of a large corporation can consume as much energy, or even more, than a relatively small city. In addition, the data center equipment generates heat, which, for the most part, is wasted just by being released into the atmosphere. The cooling of data centers requires a lot of energy, especially if the object is located in a relatively warm climate zone.
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To avoid all the problems mentioned above, the creators of EcoDataCenter locate their data center in Sweden, in one of the coolest regions of the country with moderate fluctuations in daily and seasonal temperatures. According to the authors of the Data Center Risk Index report, Sweden is the third in the ranking of countries that are most suitable for hosting a data center.

EcoDataCenter Project

The authors of the project decided to locate their data center in the city of Falun, next to a power station that is already connected to the local energy system (including the city heating system). This system received the 2013 Global District Energy Climate Award. Due to the proximity to the power plant and the heating infrastructure, the data center will be able to give off excess heat to the heating system of the city’s houses in the winter and receive additional energy from the power plant (excess steam will be used) in the summer. “Summer Energy” will be used for the operation of data center cooling systems. In addition, it is planned to use direct cooling in the cool season.



As mentioned above, the data center will be one of the safest and most reliable in the world. So, in terms of - to certify the object according to the standard Uptime Institute Tier IV. The efficiency of the data center will be 100%.

Both in winter and in summer, the data center will operate on “green” energy, including solar, wind, hydroelectric power and biofuel energy. At some moments, the use of a diesel engine is not excluded, but this is in a pinch, during periods with the lowest temperature.

EcoDataCenter specifications

• The facility will consist of 3 separate buildings with a total area of ​​23,250 square meters;
• Power - 18 MW;
• Uptime - 100%;
• Energy: wind, solar, hydropower, biofuel;
• Data center security class: Tier IV;
• PUE - less than 1.15;
• Energy Efficiency Standard - Platinum (LEED);
• Green roof;
• The average annual temperature is 5 degrees Celsius;
• Transport infrastructure: 2 km to the motorway, 2 hours to Stockholm by train, 25 km to the airport.