Domestic datacentres: how computer power can help heat your home
Energy bills are scheduled to rise next month but there are innovative ways to heat your home and save money ‘When Giles Gibson turns on the hot tap in his home, the water that comes out of it is not heated by gas but by the tiny datacentre strapped to the tank. Attached to the hot water cylinder in his London home is a compact computer server that generates heat and then transfers it as it…
Energy costs are set to increase next month, but homeowners can now benefit from innovative heating solutions that utilize computer-generated heat. Giles Gibson, a resident in southeast London, installed a compact datacentre server attached to his hot water tank, which has reduced his hot water bills by £10 to £15 per month. This system, provided by Surrey-based company heata, transfers heat generated by the server to the water without losing it into the air, addressing the environmental issue of waste heat in large datacenters.
Heata's system, consisting of a server about the size of eight laptops, can provide up to 80% of a home's hot water heating needs. The company retrofits the system to homes with vented, unpressurized water cylinders, which typically have blue insulation. The homeowner pays for the necessary fiber broadband connection, while heata covers the electricity costs for the server.
Another project in Essex involves a mini datacenter called HeatHub, which uses nearly 500 Raspberry Pi computers to generate heat. The heat is then transferred to water using a heat exchanger, which can warm a room or heat a home's radiators. HeatHub's chief executive, Travis Theune, estimates that the system could lead to a 14% reduction in bill costs for average-sized homes with a gas boiler and a 34% reduction for those with heat pumps over a 15-year period.
Theune envisions a range of units for different-sized homes, with prices around £90 per month, including installation and a 10-year minimum contract.
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