Do data centers make nearby neighborhoods hotter?
Close
Search for:
Search
Close
Bluesky
Mastodon
Threads
YouTube
Skip to content
https://newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cropped-black-text-transparent-bg.png<br>" data-image-caption data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cropped-black-text-transparent-bg.png?fit=780%2C195&ssl=1">
The Colorado Sun
Telling stories that matter in a dynamic, evolving state.
Open Search
Search for:
Search
DONATE
Menu
News
events
donate
Original Reporting
References
The Trust Project
Original Reporting<br>This article contains firsthand information gathered by reporters. This includes directly interviewing sources and analyzing primary source documents.
References<br>This article includes a list of source material, including documents and people, so you can follow the story further.
(Provided by Gigafact)<br>" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Copy-of-Business-1.png?fit=780%2C410&ssl=1" /> (Provided by Gigafact)
Yes.
Data centers can raise the temperature of nearby neighborhoods by 1-2 degrees on average, research shows.
A recent study by Arizona State University found that waste heat from data centers in Phoenix, Arizona, warmed downwind areas by 0.7 to 0.9 degrees Celsius on average and by up to 2.2 degrees Celsius.
A separate study by an international team of researchers found that data centers outside urban centers raised the surrounding area’s temperature by 2 degrees Celsius on average and, in some cases, by up to 9 degrees Celsius.
Data centers have drawn scrutiny in Colorado for their significant water and energy use. One data center typically uses between 30 and 60 megawatts of electricity, which is projected to rise as demand grows. One megawatt powers roughly 800 homes, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Colorado has 57 data centers, 45 of which are in the Denver area.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
The Colorado Sun partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
Sources
Colorado Data Centers Data Center Map<br>Congressional Research Service Report Data centers and their energy consumption<br>Grid Strategies Grid Strategies 2025 Report<br>Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities Data Center Waste Heat<br>Cornell University Data Heat Island Effect<br>Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory United States Data Center Energy Usage Report: 2025 Update
Get Fact Briefs in your email twice a week. Sign up here.
Let us know what you want fact-checked by submitting a tip! Please note that claims that are partially true or false cannot be checked. In addition, we are unable to check claims for which there are no credible, available sources to verify or dispute them.
☀️ READ MORE
(Photo provided by Gigafact.)<br>" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Copy-of-Economy-1-1.png?fit=780%2C410&ssl=1" />
Is Colorado’s median home price higher than the national average?
(Provided by Gigafact)<br>" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Copy-of-Clean-water-1.png?fit=780%2C439&ssl=1" />
Could a new Denver data center use up to 800,000 gallons of water a day?
(Provided by Gigafact.)<br>" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Copy-of-Environment-1.png?fit=780%2C410&ssl=1" />
Are injuries from wind turbines common?
Type of Story: Fact-Check<br>Checks a specific statement or set of statements asserted as fact.
Cassis Tingley. (Photo provided by Cassis Tingley.)<br>" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/cassis-tingley-.png?fit=500%2C500&ssl=1" />
Cassis TingleyReporter
cassisstingley@gmail.com
Cassis Tingley is a Denver-based freelance journalist. She’s spent the last three years covering topics ranging from political organizing and death doulas in the Denver community to academic freedom and administrative accountability at the University of Denver, where she earned her bachelor’s in journalism and international studies in 2024. Her...<br>More by Cassis Tingley
The Colorado Sun is an award-winning news outlet based in Denver that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state — our community — can better understand itself. The Colorado Sun is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. EIN: 36-5082144
Bluesky
Mastodon
Threads
YouTube
(720) 263-2338
Got a story tip? Drop us a note at tips@coloradosun.com
Follow The Sun<br>How to Support The Sun
Contact Us
Sponsorship
Newsletters
Events
Podcast
Topics<br>Business
Crime and...