Reuse AI Waste Heat to Cut Your Bills

A data-heavy SACCO in Westlands put a small heat-exchanger on their server room and now pre-heats domestic hot water for the canteen. Inspired by energy-efficiency studies in recent academic papers (including Elsevier’s latest analyses), they cut heater use by roughly 20% while keeping servers cool. The IT team only had to re-route hot aisle air through a compact coil—no exotic hardware required. If you run on-prem racks, start with airflow management (clear blanking plates, sealed cable cutouts) so hot air is easy to capture. Then add a basic heat-recovery loop to low-temp loads such as canteen water or pre-heating fresh air for offices. The project pays back in months, reduces reliance on electric heaters, and becomes a great talking point in ESG reports because it is tangible and local.