‘Slough is like an experiment’: Europe’s largest datacentre hub leaves town sweltering
Summary
Slough, near London, hosts one of Europe’s largest datacentre hubs with 30 to 40 huge facilities serving major tech companies like Amazon and Google. Studies suggest these datacentres raise local temperatures by about 2°C because their cooling systems release heat, adding to the area's already hot summer weather.Key Facts
- Slough is one of the biggest datacentre hubs in Europe, with facilities from firms like Equinix and Digital Realty.
- These datacentres support big tech companies including Amazon, Google, Oracle, and Microsoft.
- Research shows datacentres create a "heat island" effect, increasing nearby temperatures by an average of 2°C, sometimes up to 9°C.
- Cooling systems that keep computers and AI chips from overheating release large amounts of heat into the environment.
- Slough’s datacentres have a power use close to one gigawatt, much larger than typical datacentres studied before.
- Scientists say Slough’s datacentre cluster is unique and may have a bigger local temperature impact than smaller sites.
- The UK government has suggested using datacentre waste heat to warm homes.
- Residents notice the datacentres' heat and noise and debate their effects on the town’s environment.
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