Data Centers Are Raising Neighborhood Temperatures, New Research Shows

                                       

By: Christopher Cowan

Partner, Assurance

 “The question is no longer just whether the power is there, but what happens to the heat.”

– Chris Cowan

Air-cooled data centers in the Phoenix area raised temperatures in nearby neighborhoods by as much as 4 degrees Fahrenheit, according to new research from Arizona State University. The findings introduce a variable that real estate developers, municipalities, and site planners have not historically priced into project feasibility: the thermal footprint of data center operations on surrounding residential areas.

What the ASU Research Found

The study, titled Data Center Waste Heat as an Emerging Urban Thermal Hazard, measured temperature differences upwind and downwind of four Phoenix-area data centers, each with a capacity ranging from 36 to 169 megawatts. All four relied primarily on air-based cooling systems. Researchers equipped vehicles with sensors and drove them on both sides of each facility to capture the differential.

Average downwind air temperatures were 0.7 to 0.9 degrees Celsius warmer than those in the corresponding upwind areas. Peak readings reached 2.2 degrees Celsius above ambient, or approximately 4 degrees Fahrenheit, in neighborhoods roughly a third of a mile away. The discharge from condenser arrays was 14 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the surrounding air.

Why the Heat Load Is Different from Other Buildings

David Sailor, director of ASU’s School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning and lead researcher on the study, put the data center heat problem in context: ordinary commercial buildings generate roughly 10 to 20 watts of waste heat per square meter. Energy-intensive buildings push that toward 100 watts per square meter. A large data center, Sailor noted, can produce 2,000 to 6,000 watts per square meter.

A 30-megawatt data center, Sailor told Facilities Dive, “essentially puts as much energy into the environment as 25,000 or 35,000 homes. But it’s in a concentrated area of maybe 20 homes. So just imagine that intensity.”

The concern is compounded in heat-prone markets. Phoenix already experiences prolonged stretches above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in summer. Each additional degree drives higher air conditioning use, which generates more heat, creating what the study describes as a feedback loop. The research notes that data center operations could raise the energy burden on surrounding neighborhoods “precisely during the extended summer cooling season.”

Three Mitigation Approaches the Researcher Identified

Sailor outlined specific steps facilities can take to reduce thermal plume impact on nearby areas:

• Stronger vertical fans: Pushing hot air higher into the atmosphere allows it to disperse before reaching ground-level neighborhoods. The ejection velocity determines where the plume mixes.
• Open rooftop equipment: Parapet walls installed for aesthetic reasons can trap heat at the rooftop level, contributing to mixing problems. Removing unnecessary barriers allows for better dispersion.
• Evaporative cooling conversion: Converting air-cooled discharge into vapor releases substantially less warm air into the surrounding environment than standard air-based systems.

The study did not address liquid cooling systems, which submerge servers in water or chemical baths and are gaining adoption as a lower-heat alternative, particularly in large-scale AI infrastructure deployments.

The Real Estate and Regulatory Implications

With the number of U.S. data centers expected to double by 2030, according to the research, the thermal impact finding is likely to accelerate scrutiny at the municipal permitting level. Sailor acknowledged that the outcome remains variable, dependent on wind direction, wind speed, and atmospheric turbulence conditions at different times of day. But the directional finding is consistent: proximity to air-cooled data centers produces measurable temperature increases in residential areas.

For developers and investors evaluating data center site selection, cooling system design is no longer a purely operational decision. It is a community relations variable, and increasingly, a regulatory one. Markets that have moved aggressively to attract data center investment, particularly those in already-warm climates, are likely to encounter zoning and permitting challenges as this body of research grows.

Real estate advisors working in markets with high data center density should factor the cooling architecture of proposed facilities into their site feasibility assessments. The question is no longer just whether the power is there, but what happens to the heat.

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