Several district heating networks planned for the UK are looking to utilize waste heat generated by data centers.

The UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has published a list of district heating networks in development across the UK that have applied for funding and support from three of its programs.

District heating systems use a singular source of heat to warm multiple properties through a network of pipes, and can lead to lower bills and carbon emissions.

A project pipeline document published by DESNZ states: “The opportunities present a wide range of projects supported through the development stages by the Heat Networks Delivery Unit (HNDU), projects seeking capital support from the Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP) and projects that have applied to the Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) Transition Scheme.”

One scheme which has received GHNF funding is the North Crawley Heat Network, being put forward by heating network specialist Hemiko. This will take waste heat from Gatwick Airport and a data center in nearby Manor Royal, with the aim of providing 46GWh of power to homes in North Crawley. Though the data center involved isn’t named, Digital Realty has a colocation facility in Manor Royal. The project could be up and running by 2027, with construction scheduled to start next year.

The government is also backing a Hemiko scheme in London, which will provide heat to 9,000 homes being developed in the Old Oak and Park Royal area, as well as the Tyseley Heat Network, which the company is working on in Birmingham. This will take heat from a 2.5MW data center, which will provide 16.2 GWh a year to heat 21 buildings.

Durham University is looking to heat its buildings by reusing heat from its 1.5MW data center, and could use old mining tunnels under the university campus to store heat for the system. Construction could begin next year.

A larger early-stage scheme, from power firm Eon, is seeking to use warmth from three unnamed data centers to supply heating to seven residential developments. The volume of heat that will be generated is not specified, but the developments will require 31.1 GWh of energy.

Data center provider Deep Green, best known for using heat from its data centers to warm up swimming pools, is working with the Paddington Village District Energy Network in Liverpool to decarbonize its heating network, replacing its current gas setup with a heat pump that will draw in waste heat from a Deep Green deployment.

District heating from data centers is already a well-established practice across Europe, with the Nordic regions in particular at the forefront of development. Stockholm Data Parks is a notable example of an urban data center campus in Stockholm, where each facility is linked to the city’s district heating network. In Germany, new data centers are required to make their waste heat available to local heating networks.