UK start-up Deep Green has announced the use of 'UK first' 'digital boiler' technology to heat businesses with 'constant heat needs' for free including swimming pools, apartment buildings, distilleries, laundries and bakeries.
Simply put, the technology is a cloud data center submerged in mineral oil that turns excess heat from your servers into hot water.
In the case of the first pilot site, Exmouth Leisure Center in Devon, Deep Green's contributions will reduce their pool gas needs by 62%. Carbon emissions are expected to be reduced by 25,8 tonnes and the company could save around £20.000 a year.
The cost of data centers
The economic downturn continues to threaten energy-intensive businesses. An estimated 79% of the UK's 1500+ swimming pools are at risk of closure, thanks to rising 150% energy costs since 2019, and Mark Bjornsgaard, CEO of Deep Green, knows that has to change.
“Data is essential to modern society and the demand for data centers is growing exponentially,” said Bjornsgaard. "However, this comes at a cost. The current data center infrastructure is inefficient, uses a lot of energy, and generates a lot of waste heat."
To do this, "around 96%" of the heat generated by a Deep Green digital boiler is recycled.
“Swimming pools are just the beginning, and approximately 30% of all industrial and commercial heat needs could be met with this technology,” added the CEO.
Peter Gilpin, chief executive of LED Community Leisure, the operator of the Exmouth Leisure Centre, is also convinced by the decision. He says the site is already enjoying a "dramatic" reduction in energy bills and believes the technology could transform the UK's entertainment industry in the long term.
Beyond Exmouth, Deep Green expects to open facilities in Bristol and Manchester in the coming weeks.
It should be noted that while 'digital kettles' may be a 'UK first' for businesses, others have already brought the technology into the home. In February 2023, TechRadar Pro reported (opens in a new tab) that the green distributed computing network Heata was using similar technology to provide free hot water to homes in the South East of England.
We said it then and we'll say it now: companies can use “innovation” to alleviate the cost of living crisis, but it won't address the root causes and won't fully solve the bigger issues at stake.