Free data-center heat is allegedly saving a struggling public pool $24K a year

In today’s economy, communities are looking for innovative ways to cut down on expenses and save money. In the city of San Antonio, Texas, one public swimming pool has found an innovative way to make ends meet that is gaining national attention — using recycled heat from a nearby data center to warm its pool.

The Northeast Service Center Community Pool, which had been struggling financially for years due to an aging infrastructure, was noticed by a tech company Exosphere Data Centers. It noticed the naturally warm climate in San Antonio as well as the rising energy costs, and offered to recycle the data center’s heat in order to make the pool a more attractive place to visit.

Using a proprietary heat exchange system pioneered by Exosphere, hot air that is generated by the data center is funneled into an underground system and then delivered directly to the swimming pool. This helps to keep the pool at a constant, warm temperature ─ making it more inviting for patrons to use during the cooler months of the year.

According to Exosphere, the data center heat is saving the Northeast Service Center Community Pool up to $24,000 a year in energy costs. By eliminating the costs of operating a heater to keep the pool at temperature, the pool is able to channel that saved money into resources that can enhance its operations instead. As a result of the partnership with Exosphere, the Northeast Service Center Community Pool has been able to improve its infrastructure and boost its overall popularity.

The idea of using recycled data center heat to power public facilities is gaining attention as a viable form of energy efficiency. It is particularly attractive because it can produce a reliable source of energy at very little cost. Though the use of data center heat to power public facilities is still a relatively new concept, the success that San Antonio’s Northeast Service Center Community Pool has had so far could be the first of many examples of renewable energy success stories.