Domestic datacentres: how computer power can help heat your home
Summary
A UK company named heata installs small computer servers at home that create heat while running and use it to warm hot water. This system lowers household energy bills by reducing how much gas or electricity is needed to heat water, while also reusing energy that would otherwise be wasted.Key Facts
- Giles Gibson’s home in London uses a server attached to the hot water tank to heat water instead of gas.
- The server produces heat as it processes data, which is transferred to the water tank, reducing heating costs by £10 to £15 a month.
- Heata runs a business where computing tasks are sent to servers installed in people’s homes, providing cloud computing services.
- The technology works by conducting the heat from the server to a vented, unpressurized hot water cylinder without extra plumbing.
- Installation takes a couple of hours with no cost for fitting the unit, though homeowners pay for broadband.
- The system aims to provide about 80% of the hot water heating needs, with traditional heating as backup.
- Currently, 100 homes have the system, and 3,000 people are on the waiting list for installation.
- The system is not suitable for homes with combi boilers but can work with heat pumps; versions for other cylinder types are being developed.
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