Incorporating living walls into data centres increases their aesthetic appeal and significantly contributes to meeting sustainability regulations set by the EU.
Living Wall Benefits for Data Centres
Enhanced Air Quality
Living walls act as natural air filters, removing pollutants and providing cleaner air. This can be particularly beneficial in data centres, where improved air quality can contribute to better equipment performance and employee well-being.
Energy Efficiency
By providing natural insulation, living walls help regulate building temperatures, reducing the need for artificial heating and cooling. This contributes to lower energy consumption and supports compliance with EED standards.
Aesthetic Appeal
Beyond their functional benefits, living walls enhance the visual appeal of data centres, creating a more pleasant environment for employees and visitors.
Biodiversity and Well-being
Integrating green spaces into urban environments promotes biodiversity and offers psychological benefits, fostering a connection with nature even in highly technical settings.
Data centre regulations
Data centres must comply with the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) by gathering detailed sustainability data. While Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) has been the standard for efficiency, it fails to address the actual energy consumption of IT equipment inside data centres.
The CSRD takes a deeper approach, asking data centres to measure and report on areas of resource use, equipment efficiency and sustainability measures.
Living walls contribute significantly to these goals by naturally insulating to improve energy efficiency, filtering air to reduce CO2 levels, and promoting renewable energy usage.
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How Viritopia can help data centres meet regulations
Facilitating Heat Utilisation and Energy Reuse
The use of living walls can help disperse of excess heat generated by data centre operations. This natural cooling effect can complement mechanical systems designed for heat recovery and reuse, helping data centres adhere to EED standards regarding heat utilisation and energy reuse.
Improving Air Quality and Cooling Efficiency
Living walls act as natural air filters, improving air quality by removing pollutants and reducing CO2 levels. This improvement in air quality can contribute to the efficient operation of cooling systems, ensuring optimal temperature control and cooling efficiency ratios as required by the EED.
Enhancing Energy Efficiency
Living walls contribute to the energy efficiency of data centres by providing natural insulation. This insulation helps regulate the internal temperature of the building, reducing the need for artificial heating and cooling systems. By lowering the demand for HVAC systems, living walls help data centres decrease their overall energy consumption, a key requirement under both the CSRD and EED.
Promoting Renewable Energy Usage and Sustainability
Living walls support the use of renewable energy by potentially integrating with solar panel systems. The combination of green walls and renewable energy sources can create a self-sustaining environment, reducing the reliance on non-renewable energy. This aligns with the CSRD's focus on more nuanced sustainability measurements and helps data centres in their journey towards net zero emissions.
How Green Walls Can Help with Data Centre Sustainability Regulations
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