A master thesis from Aalborg University
The Value of Place: Assessing Location-Based Economic Feasibility of Data Center Heat Recovery
Author(s)
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-05-27
Pages
63 pages
Abstract
This thesisinvestigatestheeconomicfeasibilityofreusingExcessHeat(EH)fromDataCenters (DCs) forDistrictHeating(DH)purposes,emphasizinghowlocation-relatedfactorsinfluence financial viabilityofsuchprojects.Thestudy,groundedinLocationTheoryandIndustrial- Urban Symbiosis,comparativelyanalyzesNetPresentValue(NPV)andDiscountedPaybackPeriod (DPB) ofsixreal-worldDanishDCsites,identifiedthroughspatialanalysis.Thethesisidentifies three keylocation-relatedinputfactorsfortheNPVmodel:DHconnectioncosts,temperature difference betweenDC’sEHandDHsupply(HP’sCOP),andlocalEHprice.Resultsshowthat differences inDClocationcanleadtosignificantlyvariedNPVoutcomes,withcostsofconnection betweenDCandDHbeingadecisivefactor.While,withinputEHandelectricityprices,onlylarge- scale DCswithefficientliquidcoolingshowpositiveNPVwithina12-yeartimeframe,resultssuggest the needtoaccountforlocalspatialandeconomiccontextwhenplanningforDC’sEHrecovery. The projecthighlightstheimportanceofintegratingspatialplanningandenergyinfrastructure decisions tounlockthepotentialofDCheatreuseinsustainableurbanenergysystems.
Keywords
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