How to design a data center heat recovery system to provide heating for a greenhouse with Hortinergy ?
The data center’s heat recovery system is an excellent opportunity to heat a greenhouse.
The data center needs to be cooled all year round. Recovered heat can easily be used to heat a greenhouse.
1 - How can a data center heat recovery system heat a greenhouse?
Waste heat from data centers is recovered and repurposed instead of being lost. The recovered heat is used directly to heat the greenhouse.
During the day, when heating requirements are lower, any surplus heat is stored in a water buffer tank for later use. If the buffer tank is unloaded and the recovered heat is insufficient, additional energy is necessary to meet the demand.
2 - What are the Hortinergy parameters and output ?
Here under a case study for a 1 hectare project in France.
Input:
- Recovery heat: 500 kW
- Buffer tank: 500 m³, 10 m height, 20 cm insulation
Outputs :
- Annual energy provided by data center
- Additional heating required
At night and in the mornings, a huge part of the heating demand is provided by the data center’s heat recovery system (main heating system, for 500 kW). The remaining heating demand requires using additional heating.
During the rest of the day, excess heat from the data center heat recovery system can be used to warm the buffer tank. For instance, in this graph, the buffer tank is storing heat energy from 11 am to 6 pm.
With Hortinergy, you can simulate screens, sustainability, cannabis greenhouse , supplemental lighting, and calculate carbon tax rebate. We provide also trainings on energy consumption to be a greenhouse designer.
Hortinergy is an online software. You can choose your offer, create an account and start your project.
Our consulting company Agrithermic can also support you in the design and calculations.