Data centers are the central infrastructure of the smart city—they process and analyze data to optimize the efficiency and functionality of urban systems.
Frankfurt/Main, April 9, 2024 – While the concept of the smart city still sounds like a vision of the future to many, it is becoming increasingly present in everyday life. The more innovative cities become, the more important the exchange of data between people, devices, and local systems becomes. To ensure this information can be processed and stored, the demand for data center capacity is rising. This should be available as close as possible.
For this reason, data centers are increasingly regarded as a new form of critical infrastructure for modern cities. However, they are often criticized for their energy balance. Furthermore, from an urban planning perspective, there is often resistance to further expansion. Yet, this is necessary for the success of smart cities.
“It is therefore essential to make data centers more sustainable and integrate them better into the cityscape,” explains Jerome Evans, founder and CEO of firstcolo GmbH.
The industry is aware of this challenge. With the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact (CNDCP), it has committed to operating climate-neutrally from 2030. Achieving this goal requires various measures. These must cover different scenarios and take the entire lifecycle of a data center into account.
A significant portion of emissions is generated during construction. Large quantities of energy-intensive concrete and steel are used. At the same time, modernizing existing infrastructure offers the opportunity to use the available power supply more efficiently. This allows for higher densities and growing IT loads to be accommodated.
This is made possible, among other things, by replacing UPS systems, using energy-efficient servers and storage systems, and adapting cooling technology.
“In this way, both one-time and long-term emission savings can be achieved,” Evans explains. The same applies to converting existing buildings into data centers. This is also necessary to meet the energy efficiency targets of the Renewable Energy Sources Act, for example, with regard to the PUE value.
Data centers play a central role in the development of smart cities. They act as core infrastructure, collecting data from various sources and preparing it for analysis. This creates valuable insights that can be used to make cities more efficient and functional.
By processing large amounts of data in real time, traffic flows can be optimized or energy consumption reduced, for example. One of the most important tasks of data centers in the smart city is therefore the processing of Big Data. They collect information from sensors and devices such as traffic cameras, weather stations, or smart metering systems.
By analyzing this data, patterns can be identified that indicate potential for improvement.
“This allows traffic flows to be monitored and forecasts to be created to avoid congestion or better manage public transport,” says Evans.
Modern data centers also provide real-time data on energy generation and usage. In doing so, they contribute significantly to the energy efficiency of cities. Based on this data, energy waste can be reduced and consumption specifically optimized. Examples include smart lighting systems or the demand-based control of buildings.
Green IT therefore plays a key role for smart cities. However, traditional data centers consume a lot of energy and cause high CO₂ emissions. Sustainable data centers therefore rely on energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy sources. The goal is to lower energy demand and reduce emissions.
Efficient cooling techniques and the self-generation of electricity from solar or wind energy are among the methods used.
“There are already several smart city projects in Germany with a focus on sustainability,” says Evans. For example, a new development area in Frankfurt uses waste heat from data centers to heat apartments. This form of heat recycling will continue to gain importance in the future.
Frankfurt/Main, April 9, 2024 – While it may still sound like a vision of the future, the smart city is becoming more present every day. The more innovative cities become, the more important the exchange of data between people, devices, and local systems proves to be. And since information must be processed and stored, the demand for data center capacity is also growing, which should be available locally whenever possible.
For this reason, data centers are considered something of a new infrastructure that belongs to modern cities. However, they are not exactly known for their positive energy balance. And for urban planning reasons, there is also frequent resistance to further expansion, which is required for the success of smart cities. “It is therefore essential to make data centers more sustainable and integrate them better into the cityscape overall,” says Jerome Evans, founder and CEO of firstcolo GmbH.
The industry is already aware of this problem and has committed to operating climate-neutrally from 2030 with the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact (CNDCP). “Achieving this goal requires various methods that cover different scenarios and take the entire lifecycle of a data center into account. It is important to note that a large amount of a data center’s emissions can be traced back to its construction,” Evans explains.
A significant part of the construction work relies on the use of energy-intensive concrete and steel. At the same time, modernizing critical infrastructure can lead to a more efficient use of the existing power supply. This can be used for higher density and growing IT loads, for example, by replacing UPS systems, energy-efficient servers and storage systems, or adapting cooling technology.
“In this way, significant one-time as well as long-term emission savings can be achieved by modernizing existing properties. The same applies when existing buildings are converted into data centers,” Evans explains. “This is also necessary, among other things, to achieve the energy efficiency targets from the Renewable Energy Sources Act with specific threshold values in relation to the PUE of a data center.”
Data centers therefore play a decisive role in the development of smart cities. They serve as core infrastructure and collect data from various sources, process it, and enable its analysis. This provides insights that can be used to improve the efficiency and functionality of the city.
“By processing large volumes of information in real time, data centers help optimize road traffic and reduce energy consumption,” the expert said. One of the most important functions of data centers in the smart city is to process big data. They collect information from a wide range of sensors and devices, such as traffic cameras, weather stations, and smart meters deployed throughout the city. By analyzing this data, patterns can be identified that indicate where improvements can be made.
“For example, data centers enable the monitoring of traffic flows and the creation of traffic volume forecasts to avoid congestion or optimize the routes of public transport,” Evans knows.
By providing real-time data on energy generation and usage, modern data centers contribute significantly to energy efficiency. “By analyzing this data, cities can reduce energy waste and optimize consumption, for example by using smart lighting systems or controlling the energy requirements of buildings,” says Evans.
Green IT therefore plays a decisive role for smart cities. However, traditional data centers consume a lot of energy and have a significant ecological footprint. Sustainable variants therefore rely on energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy sources to minimize energy consumption and reduce CO₂ emissions. They use cooling techniques that require less energy or generate their own electricity from solar energy or wind power.
“There are already several smart city projects in Germany that focus on sustainability. A new development area in Frankfurt, for example, uses waste heat from data centers to heat apartments. This form of heat recycling will gain significantly in importance in the future,” the expert concludes.
