Data servers, the hardware that power cloud computing and other Internet-based services, generate a significant amount of heat. What if the heat generated by data servers were to be harnessed to heat homes and buildings? That’s precisely what a group of researchers at Microsoft’s Sensing and Energy Research Group have proposed. In a paper titled “The Data Furnace: Heating Up with Cloud Computing”, the authors argue for the design and installation of data servers in homes and buildings as a primary heating source. The authors argue that these so-called “data furnaces” would both reduce energy needs for heating homes and buildings while enhance the quality and efficiency of Internet services due to the placement of servers in closer proximity to end users. While some operators of data centers – facilities that house numerous data servers – have already begun to recycle the heat produced by data servers to heat nearby buildings, Microsoft researchers have taken the concept one step further – that data servers be designed for the purpose of heating buildings as well as performing data serving functions.
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I’ve thinking about this solution to computer’s cooling and I’ve just found this article. It is a nice idea and should be taken seriously to enjoy the nowadays energy that is throw out. The buildings in colder places could get some money as datacenters and at the same time heats its spaces.
Comment by Luis Henrique Wolfarth August 14, 2011 @ 7:54 AM