"Green" data centres - scope for reusing waste heat?

[Andrew_C]

I'd always felt that Air Con in a server room on a winters day was bonkers Now it looks like the big boys are waking up to the idea that waste heat isn't waste at all.[h=1]Heating houses with 'nerd power'

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[PotNoodleTech]

Intersting idea but the finances don't quite work out as compelling as it first seems. If they only "just" cover you're electricity costs - then it is going to take a HECK of a long time to pay back the cost of the radiator(s) via heating energy savings.

 

I'd need AT LEAST 5 x Radiators in my small flat so that may cost £1800 from nerdalize. £1800 is about 5 years worth of my heating bill, so in year 6 I will start getting the "free heating" they claim on the website. By then electricity prices will have risen, will the nerdalize payments have risen along side, or will each radiator be making a net loss by then?

 

They need to pay for more than just you're electricity otherwise the breakeven period is too long.

[pcstru]

I'd need AT LEAST 5 x Radiators in my small flat so that may cost £1800 from nerdalize. £1800 is about 5 years worth of my heating bill, so in year 6 I will start getting the "free heating" they claim on the website. By then electricity prices will have risen, will the nerdalize payments have risen along side, or will each radiator be making a net loss by then?

 

They need to pay for more than just you're electricity otherwise the breakeven period is too long.

 

If payments don't rise in line with electricity costs (i.e. if they are not paying the full cost of the electrical consumption of the device), then surely it is not the service described in the article? So from your POV, as energy costs rise, the payback time should just get shorter. If you actually needed '1000W' of low grade heat 24/7, then the payback time would be months, not years (1W continuous draw will bill at about £1 a year).

[PotNoodleTech]

Yes there are some situations where this would work out really nice, if you are looking to implement a new central heating system or replace old existing electric storage heaters then this could work out as a genius move for you. Combined with some solar panels / wind turbines could be a really cool self sufficient heating system!

[Willott]

This is why every high rise building should have a DC in the basement... Think about it, massive increase in capacity for computing, you could have fibre connectivity to the building which is then resold to tenants, use heat from servers to provide hot water/heating as necessary, redundant electrical feeds to building. Stick wind turbine/solar on roof and some of the energy cost of the DC would also be offset...

 

edit: also, apply the same tech to schools...

[elsiegee40]

When I went to a Manchester Uni open day in 1981 they proudly showed us how their computer heated the building.

 

Similarly the CEGB had a new building at Beckwith Knowle in Harrogate which opened in about 1976. They had a swimming pool in the basement which was heated by guess what.

 

It's hardly a new idea

[Andrew_C]

All the steam that you see coming up from the "sidewalks" in New York? They've been doing local area heating for decades.

[matt40k]

My local powerstation is wasting heat with those cooling towers. Why not heat exchange it all to the local homes in the area as payback for coating everything in a not so thin film to dust.

What a load of hot air

 

Prob cause the heat would dissipate by the time it reached any houses

 

Because heat wants to go up and if you curve it off you'd end up creating rain as it hits the cold air

 

Because no-one wants the build there house on top of a cooling tower, especially as the thermostat doesn't work and by the time you walked up all those steps to your house, the last thing you want to be greeted with his hot air.

 

This is all assuming the air isn't full of something nasty. If you can solve the energy/heat transfer problem you'll be a very rich person. If you look at the Facebook DC designs you basically take a knock on server performance as they have to run at hotter temps and other risks.

[matt40k]

There is a bit of a difference between recycling by-product (heat) and have a large scale heating system. Still I'll give you credit - first time I've heard someone make a point about Russia being better!!