Waste HeatThe Value of Heat: From Waste to a Collective Spatial ResourceSara Pina Alves, Lilli Brändle, and Alexander Glattfelder

Whether and how waste heat from data centres or similar infrastructures is utilised depends heavily on the geographic context. In rural areas, long distances and dispersed settlements complicate heat distribution. Conversely, urban environments feature dense infrastructure and a high concentration of potential consumers, greatly facilitating the process. These spatial mismatches frequently prevent local waste heat reuse and its integration into everyday life.

Density of end consumers, distances between producer and consumer, and existing infrastructures influence how and if heat is stored and distributed. While local systems often operate at a small scales, metropolitan areas rely on large and interconnected networks. Each thermal scale creates different spatial conditions and requires different forms of distribution and exchange.

Resilient thermal systems rely on connections between different producers, storage systems, and users. Instead of isolated infrastructures, clustered networks allow heat to be shared across neighbourhoods, civic infrastructures, and productive landscapes. By connecting multiple systems and scales, thermal networks become more adaptable, flexible, and collectively resilient.

The future cloud is no longer a hidden infrastructure operating in the background, but becomes part of everyday life through a waste heat network. Beyond technical efficiency, thermal networks can create new forms of collective space, ecological integration, and territorial resilience.