How Do AI Data Centers Combat 'Heat Islands'?

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Digital infrastructure firm Digital Realty Bersama (DRB) is acknowledging the massive energy consumption across data centers. The shift in computing needs to AI-based operations has increased the capacity of devices, resulting in a significant amount of heat.

According to a written statement from DRB representative to Tempo on April 30, 2026, the massive computing capacity demand eventually triggers a significant jolt in heat within the devices.

Quoting a premium report from Tempo, 'How Significant are AI Data Centers in Triggering Temperature Increase' (Seberapa Signifikan Pusat Data AI Menyumbang Kenaikan Suhu), the euphoria over AI data center construction has raised new concerns about increased temperatures in urban areas.

A study by researchers from the University of Cambridge, published in April 2026, shows that the air temperature around computing facilities rose alongside high energy consumption, including the needs for cooling systems.

The large-scale computing activities also contribute to urban heat islands (UHI), a phenomenon where the urban area's temperature is higher than the surrounding non-urban area. Before the data center expansion, the UHI phenomenon tended to appear due to changes in the city landscape, from mostly open spaces to rows of buildings. Concrete and asphalt surfaces are capable of absorbing and retaining heat during the day.

According to DRB, the biggest heat sources in data center operations come from IT equipment such as servers, storage, and graphics processing units (GPUs). These devices process data continuously, resulting in a high amount of heat. The high energy consumption also comes from the electrical distribution equipment—a power distribution system that maintains a stable power supply to computing devices.

To control heat within the facilities, DRB implements a closed-loop system and special insulation to capture and manage the heat from the servers inside the building. The company also uses advanced cooling systems to direct cold airflow specifically to demanding devices. 

The entity managing two data center complexes in Jakarta, namely the 5 Megawatt (MW) capacity CGK11 in East Jakarta, and the 1.5 MW capacity CKG10 in West Jakarta, also operates low-pressure watermist on the roof and building corners. "This method helps reduce the air temperature around the building and at the same time reduces dust contamination," stated DRB.

In the electrical distribution system, DRB reduces electrical losses to reduce secondary heat from the electrical system. As a guarantee, management ensures that the data center infrastructure used is already certified as a green building LEED Gold, an international standard that assesses building energy efficiency and sustainability.

Digital Realty Bersama's Business Director, Andha Yudha Permana, predicts rapid growth of the data center business in Indonesia as AI adoption also grows. "The data center for AI in Indonesia is currently at 500 MW, and is likely to double by the end of this year," he told the media during a visit to CGK11 on April 22.

The Chair of the Indonesian Information Technology Consultants Association (IKTII), Teddy Sukardi, also ensures that data center providers are constantly on the lookout for heat reduction. According to the member of the Advisory Board of the Indonesian Data Center Providers Association (IDPRO), the heat load in data centers can also come from inefficient energy usage. "But we are thinking of mitigation measures," he told Tempo.

Read: Study: AI Data Centers Raise Local Temperatures by 2-9 Degrees Celsius

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