OCP Heat Reuse Economics Tool

An interactive analysis tool for evaluating datacenter heat reuse systems. Developed by the Open Compute Project (OCP) Community.

Overview

This tool provides order-of-magnitude cost estimates for heat exchanger systems used in datacenter heat reuse applications. It helps engineers, facility planners, and sustainability teams evaluate the economics of capturing and reusing waste heat from datacenters.

+------------------+     +-----------------+     +------------------+
|    Datacenter    | --> | Heat Exchanger  | --> | District Heating |
|   (Heat Source)  |     |     System      |     |   or Other Use   |
+------------------+     +-----------------+     +------------------+
        |                        |                       |
        v                        v                       v
   Server Cooling          Cost Analysis           Heat Recovery
   Water Circuit           Capital Costs           Economic Value
                          Operating Costs

What This Tool Calculates

• Heat exchanger sizing and selection
• Capital cost estimates (equipment, piping, valves, instrumentation)
• Installation, engineering, and contingency factors
• Operating costs (pump energy consumption)
• Comparison across different approach temperatures (2C, 3C, 5C)

Quick Start

Choose the option that best fits your situation:

                    How do you want to run the tool?
                                  |
            +---------------------+---------------------+
            |                     |                     |
            v                     v                     v
    [No Installation]      [Local Install]       [Developer]
     Google Colab          Your Computer         Contribute
            |                     |                     |
            v                     v                     v
      Click badge           Follow guide          Full setup
      Run the cell          15-20 minutes         Clone + venv

Option 1: No Installation (Google Colab)

The fastest way to start. Requires only a Google account.

1. Click the "Open in Colab" badge above
2. Click "Run All" from the Runtime menu (or press Ctrl+F9)
3. Wait approximately 30 seconds for setup
4. Use the tool

No software installation required. Your session is temporary; download any results before closing.

Option 2: Local Installation

Run the tool on your own computer. Works offline after initial setup.

Prerequisites: Python 3.10 or newer

Quick Install:

# Download the project
git clone https://github.com/opencomputeproject/OCP-CE-HR-Economics-Tool.git
cd OCP-CE-HR-Economics-Tool

# Create isolated environment
python -m venv .venv

# Activate environment
# Windows (PowerShell):
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
# Mac/Linux:
source .venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Register Jupyter kernel
python -m ipykernel install --user --name=heat-reuse-tool --display-name="Heat Reuse Tool"

# Start Jupyter
jupyter notebook

Open Interactive Analysis Tool.ipynb and run the cell.

For detailed platform-specific instructions, see:

• Windows Setup Guide
• Mac Setup Guide
• Linux Setup Guide

Option 3: Developer Setup

For contributors who want to modify the tool or submit improvements.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for complete instructions.

Documentation

Document	Description
INSTALL.md	Comprehensive installation guide
docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md	Common issues and solutions
docs/SETUP_COLAB.md	Google Colab detailed guide
docs/UI_CALCULATION_MAP.md	Technical calculation details
docs/Cost_API_Usage.md	Cost calculation API reference

Project Structure

OCP-CE-HR-Economics-Tool/
|
|-- Interactive Analysis Tool.ipynb    Main notebook (start here)
|
|-- python/                            Source code
|   |-- core/                          Cost calculations
|   |-- physics/                       Engineering calculations
|   |-- ui/                            User interface
|   +-- data/                          Data loading
|
|-- Data/                              Reference data (CSV files)
|   |-- ALLHX.csv                      Heat exchanger database
|   |-- PIPCOST.csv                    Piping costs
|   +-- ...                            Valves, fittings, etc.
|
|-- docs/                              Documentation
+-- tools/                             Setup utilities

System Requirements

Minimum:

• Python 3.10+
• 4 GB RAM
• Modern web browser (for Jupyter interface)
• Internet connection (for initial setup only)

Supported Platforms:

• Windows 10/11
• macOS 10.14+
• Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+, Fedora, Debian)

Supported Browsers (for Jupyter):

• Chrome/Chromium
• Firefox
• Safari
• Edge

Data Customization

The tool uses CSV files in the Data/ directory for pricing and equipment specifications. You can modify these files for your local conditions:

File	Contents
ALLHX.csv	Heat exchanger specifications and costs
PIPCOST.csv	Piping costs by material and size
PIPSZ.csv	Pipe sizing data
CVALV.csv	Control valve costs
IVALV.csv	Isolation valve costs
JOINTS.csv	Fitting and joint costs

Keep backups before modifying. Changes affect only your local installation.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md for:

• How to report issues
• How to suggest improvements
• How to submit changes
• Code style guidelines

All contributions are reviewed before inclusion in the official repository.

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE for details.

Acknowledgments

Developed by the Open Compute Project (OCP) Community.

Contributors:

• Ahliana Byrd (Primary Developer)
• OCP Heat Reuse Subproject Members

References:

• White Paper: Developing a Tool to Evaluate the Economics of Data Center Heat Reuse
• VDI Heat Atlas (Heat exchanger calculations)
• European district heating standards

Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Documentation: See the docs/ directory
• OCP Community: Open Compute Project

---

Open Compute Project | Heat Reuse Subproject