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Dutch start-up Nerdalize has teamed up with energy providers
Eneco to launch its e-Radiator prototype, which is being tested
in five Dutch homes as an alternative heating device. The
e-Radiator is a computer server that crunches numbers for a
variety of Belgian firms - while the resultant heat will heat
the rooms in which they're situated. Nerdalize believes the
scheme could be a commercially viable alternative to traditional
radiators.
CEO Boaz Leupe told Reuters the scheme is ideal for both
computing clients and home owners.
"These computers generate massive amounts of heat and then you
start using energy to cool that down again, which is a bit of a
waste. With the solution that Nerdalize has, we don't actually
have to build the data center, which saves a lot of costs in
infrastructure and we don't have the cooling overhead, plus that
you have the environmental benefit, that the Kilowatt hour you
are using is used twice, once to heat the home and once to
compute the clients task without the cooling overhead," Leupe
told Reuters.
He added: "Actually what we do is not that different from a
normal cloud provider, pretty much we make sure that there is
infrastructure, or hardware and that there is a lot of clients
that now book their feed with traditional cloud provider, and
basically what booking capacity means is that you rent a
computer for a little while and we rent out computer to
universities and companies that have computer-intensive needs."
Nerdalize's founders thought up the scheme after crowding around
a laptop to keep warm after a home thermostat broke.
The e-Radiators stored in the test homes are being used to run
complex calculations and other computer-intensive jobs for an
array of companies and research institutions. Nerdalize will pay
the bill for powering the radiators, allowing Eneco customers to
stay warm for free. Nerdalize say that the scheme is also
environmentally friendly, because energy is effectively used
twice in the new system.
"The people's benefit is actually quite simple, what we do is we
reimburse the electricity the server uses, and that we can do
because of the computer clients on the other side, and in that
way home owners actually get heating for free and compute users
don't have to pay for the overhead of the data center, so it's
pretty much a win-win situation," said Leupe.
In addition to saving money by negating the need for large data
centers, large computer firms will also benefit from no longer
needing to use energy to cool the servers down, which can add
considerably to their own bills.
Jan Visser, one of the home owners in the scheme, said he is
looking forward to receiving lower electricity bills.
"This has nothing to do with our existing central heating
installation which stayed intact, this server heater is an
entirely individual heating device," said Visser. "Of course, if
it gives good enough warmth, you can use less of your existing
central heating and there is the chance for home owner to pay
less bills."
The trial will be monitored throughout the year, and once
completed the companies will decide whether to extend the
system.
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