Data centers may make Arizona hotter, according to researchers

New research from Arizona State University indicates that data centers may be contributing to higher temperatures in the state, particularly in the Phoenix metro area. David Saylor, a researcher at ASU, has been measuring the heat effects from data centers and found that downwind of these facilities, air temperatures were consistently elevated. Saylor's preliminary research, which involved using car-mounted sensors to take temperature readings around data centers, showed an increase of 3 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit in nearby residential areas hundreds of yards downwind. He explained that data centers, especially those supporting AI, generate significant heat, requiring extensive cooling systems. The exhaust from these systems, combined with the energy consumed by the air conditioning equipment itself, results in substantial waste heat being rejected into the environment. These facilities are known for their high electricity consumption, with a mid-sized 30-megawatt data center using as much power as 20,000 to 30,000 homes. While the data is still preliminary, Saylor plans to design a full-scale experiment to accurately quantify the heat output and explore methods to more effectively dissipate this waste heat vertically away from the surface.