NEWS: Are data centers heating up surrounding communities?

The fans that cool off condensers are pushing hot air outdoors, according to a peer-reviewed study from Arizona State University. In neighborhoods downwind of four Phoenix-area data centers, researchers recorded temperatures up to 4 degrees Fahrenheit higher than in upwind areas. 

And as we reported in March, one pre-print study suggested that data centers warm the surrounding land by up to 16 degrees Fahrenheit. As data centers quickly expand across the US, scientists are fretting over the collective warming effect.