OPTIMIZED SYSTEMS

Data Furnaces Use Servers to Heat the Home

Rebecca Kutzer-Rice | Date: 08-04-11 | Comments

A recent paper by Microsoft Research suggests using servers and data centers to heat buildings, including homes, offices, and college campuses. The method could cut the costs and energy waste traditionally associated with big server farms.

Massive server farms are becoming more and more common. While we frequently advocate the business benefits of the cloud here at Smarter Technology, the environmental consequences of the numbers of servers needed for major cloud efforts can be huge. A recent paper now proposes an unlikely solution to this environmental problem: using servers as furnaces to heat homes, offices and other buildings.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, servers and data centers are responsible for up to 1.5 percent of electricity consumption, much of which is used trying to keep the machines cool. While the machines don�t generate enough heat to produce electricity, their temperature (which reaches up to 122 degrees) is perfect for heating purposes, including water heating and clothes dryers.

Big server farms are a major consumer of electricity in the United States. Using their heat to warm homes and offices could cut costs and save energy.

The paper by Microsoft Research proposes using micro-datacenters as �Data Furnaces,� the primary heating sources for office buildings and homes. Each Data Furnace, consisting of 40 to 400 CPUs, would integrate with the existing infrastructure of a building, much like a traditional furnace.

The researchers suggest that cloud-computing service operators could offer free heating to the companies and families housing the Data Furnaces. The technology could thereby diminish costs for both parties, as well as reduce energy consumption.

One disadvantage of the system is the lack of security in residential areas and even office buildings, according to a recent article in Gizmag. With encrypted data and tamper-proof devices, however, the Data Furnaces could avoid breaches.

The researchers suggest that Data Furnaces could save companies up to $324 per furnace per year. �Data Furnaces will reuse the facilities and energy already allocated for heating purposes to provide computing services with low cost and energy footprint,� they write.

�A similar approach could be used to heat water tanks, office buildings, apartment complexes, vegetable farms and large campuses with central facilities,� the researchers add.

Would you consider using servers as furnaces in your home or office? Let us know in the comments section below!