SCIENCE · VERIFIED DEVELOPMENT
Data Centers Harness Ground to Store Heat for Winter Use
WHY IT MATTERS
This innovative approach could help reduce energy consumption in data centers, which account for a significant share of electricity usage in the US, and potentially mitigate the environmental impact of these facilities.
What happened
Epic Systems in Wisconsin has developed a system to store heat from its data center underground during summer and retrieve it in winter. The company has drilled 6,100 wells to heat and cool 40 buildings on its campus.
This approach is unusual as most data centers generate heat year-round, but Epic's system stores heat in the ground, allowing it to be reused months later.
The stored heat is then used to warm offices, supply hot water, and melt snow.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Data centers make heat all year long – here’s how the ground can hold onto it until winter
The Conversation US · Moones Alamooti, Assistant Professor of Energy and Petroleum Engineering, University of North Dakota · CC BY-ND; link/attribution intake only—no edited republication
CORRECTIONS & UPDATES
- Revision 1 · Initial ingestion · Oct 9, 2026, 1:30 PM
- Revision 2 · Source update detected · Oct 9, 2026, 1:30 PM