The data centre will be cooled using seawater from the Baltic, which falls below 8C from November to May, with the excess heat pumped back into the city’s heating system.
Helsinki already has the infrastructure to handle this. Hot water is heated at central locations then pumped along a 850 mile network to users. So, this is an add-on. But an important one.
Server farms account for 3% of all electricity used in Britain with two thirds of that used for cooling. This Helsinki server farm is a model for the future as it uses electricity far more efficiently than other data centers.