Should we be using computers to heat our own houses?

2008-02-20

A random thought, prompted by a discussion with APC a few years ago. I was surprised to discover (having clearly been a poor student in O Level Physics) that the amount of heat output by a rack of processors, storage etc was exactly equivalent to the amount of power that went in. I know, its so obvious it hurts. More recently, there are plenty of stories of office blocks being heated using computer equipment. The question - as I sit in a relatively warm room,  no doubt due to the two computers pumping out hot air right now - is whether such a strategy could also be adopted by the "connected home"?

Which begs the next question - which is the more efficient heating device - the computer  or  the oil-fired radiator - and why? It would be funny if, at some point in the future,  processor cycles were seen as a knock-on benefit of our silicon-based wall heaters...