Reuse of waste heat from data center for heating and cooling

Java has about 4,000 kilowatts of power and produces 19 giga watt hours of waste heat annually. Solar panels on the facade and on the elevated highway will provide electricity for the data center. The amount of the waste heat is cooled by a water system invented by IBM in collaboration with ETH Zurich. It reduces the energy required for cooling and allows waste heat to be used for heating and cooling. The waste heat will flow as an energy source into the heat supply network in Zurich. The supply areas in Zurich currently consists of two independent networks: Zurich-north and Zurich-west. By 2020 a new underground line will connect the two networks together and this project sees itself as a part of the connection and expands the supply area in the direction of Zurich-south.

Thermal activated park area

Java is situated at the Manesseplatz along the Sihl River in Zurich. The cold river water increases the cooling efficiency of the data center during the winter. The heated water flows back in an underground pipe network. The outside area will be thermally activated. It forms a park area with its own foggy microclimate. 

Urban living space without thermal insulation

The collected waste heat with a temperature of 60 degree from the data center will be pumped up and transported into the sorption machines which split the 60 degree waste heat into a two-stage temperature range: 12 degree which could be used for cooling and 35 degree for heating. Totally open living spaces are created under the cylindric volumes. Installations like water pipes and electric cables enable a flexible use and configuration in the 72 apartments. Through a recess, the sorption machine loses minimal energy and works like a huge air conditioner for the apartment. Therefore there is no thermal isolation around the apartments. The sorption machine rests on rolling bearings in a tray and can be rotated by a wheel depending on heating or cooling demand during the different seasons.