Green Building Forum - What a great idea.

What a great idea.

Rex — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 19:34:48 +0000

This link from the BBC web site. What a great idea. Win Win all around.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0rpy7envr5o

What a great idea.

Peter_in_Hungary — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 20:19:42 +0000

A good idea...........I wonder what HMRC (benefit in kind), the local planning authority (business use of the premiss) and the local DNO (increase in power demand) all think of this and its potential proliferation around the neighbourhood

What a great idea.

djh — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 21:10:44 +0000

I also wonder how much network capacity it needs and how that is provided.

What a great idea.

owlman — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 10:57:18 +0000

Posted By: Peter_in_HungaryA good idea...........I wonder what HMRC (benefit in kind), the local planning authority (business use of the premiss) and the local DNO (increase in power demand) all think of this and its potential proliferation around the neighbourhood

They'll tax it.

What a great idea.

Doubting_Thomas — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 11:22:18 +0000

I too wondered about the DNO, given how much of a faff it is even to get an EV charger installed.

Also, what happens to the excess heat in the summer when they don't need space heating? Does it all go into DHW storage or do they dump it elsewhere?

What a great idea.

WillInAberdeen — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 11:40:29 +0000

Elsewhere on the web, I read that this mini data centre consists of 550 raspberry pi computers in a box , their industrial variant, CM5.

The total energy used and heat produced by that many raspberry pi (pies?) is around 3kW

This would not trouble the DNO but also would not heat a very large house (unless insulated much better than is typical)

They only run the computers when the house needs heat, turned off in the summer

They are vague about how the heat gets transferred to the house IE at what temperature. Presumably a low temperature for UFH, as if the computers were run hot enough to supply DHW or radiators then they would lose performance and not last long.

It's all a bit experimental and driven by grant funding as is normal for experiments. Might or might not turn into a practical solution at scale.

Edit to add: it has it's own fibre connection, doesn't tie up the homeowners' broadband.

I am more hopeful about using mini data centres to heat swimming pools as they need heat all year round at low temperature, can use it overnight at low price. Starting to happen!

What a great idea.

revor — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 19:20:35 +0000

I did not realise raspberry pi was so versatile. I thought they were for teaching, enthusiasts use and prototyping ideas etc. I wonder why they were chosen other than other setups.

What a great idea.

djh — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 21:15:44 +0000

Here's a couple of articles that give some idea:
https://datacentrereview.com/2025/10/uk-power-networks-shield-turns-edge-data-centres-into-home-heating-systems/
https://www.xda-developers.com/projects-the-raspberry-pi-cm5-perfectly-suited/

What a great idea.

WillInAberdeen — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 09:22:47 +0000

https://www.thereengineer.pro/p/sheds-and-garages-to-become-mini

More details here - flow temperature 50degC but 70 might be possible. Noise, security, power supply, cost aspects

What a great idea.

revor — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 18:55:29 +0000

Interesting stuff in there. Some 50+ years ago being into photography I would build exposure controllers, temperature control units and processors etc. for the darkroom, because either they were not available or very expensive. Would have been nice if raspberry pi was around then. Cut my teeth on the NE 555 and 556 IC which were very versatile in what you could make with them. Still available in various forms today. Nowadays IOT stuff is cheapish to buy so I think one would need to be a real enthusiast to experiment with pi.

Posted By: WillInAberdeenhttps://www.thereengineer.pro/p/sheds-and-garages-to-become-mini

What caught my eye in this article was a mention of the oil coolant and heat transfer medium. Shell have recently developed in conjunction with others a thermal management fluid which is nonconductive and it is claimed will reduce the charging time of EV batteries quite dramatically.

https://www.arenaev.com/shells_new_battery_fluid_could_make_charging_evs_much_faster-news-5121.php

What a great idea.

fostertom — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 19:18:13 +0000

Posted By: WillInAberdeenPresumably a low temperature for UFH, as if the computers were run hot enough to supply DHW or radiators then they would lose performance and not last long.

So - heat pump? Like the advantageous but vanishingly rare type of HP that just sticks its Source coil in a nearby stream - no need for a big fan in a box or underground-circulating pump, adding Source-capture kWs to the compressor kWs consumed. Without those, COP could routinely start at what - 5 instead of 3? So 3kw off the processors becomes 15kW - not bad.

What a great idea.

WillInAberdeen — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 19:37:56 +0000

Sadly not Tom - it can't be created or destroyed, even with a heatpump!

You could buy 3kW of electricity, use computers to turn that into hot oil at 50degC, buy another 0.5kW of electricity to heatpump the 3kW up to 70degC, and then you'd have 3.5kW.

What a great idea.

Peter_in_Hungary — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 23:08:17 +0000

Posted By: WillInAberdeenYou could buy 3kW of electricity, use computers to turn that into hot oil at 50degC, buy another 0.5kW of electricity to heatpump the 3kW up to 70degC, and then you'd have 3.5kW.

But the 3kW was going to be spent anyway and typically expelled to air as waste. The expenditure of another 0.5kW recovers the waste into something usable.

My last job in the UK was in a computer centre and that had lots of waste heat and there were several studies to try to use ( = sell) that waste heat but none proved cost effective (viable) so it all went out to air. That was 30+ years ago. Perhaps things have moved on a bit now.

What a great idea.

WillInAberdeen — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 23:31:39 +0000

Yes indeed, but you can't turn 3kW of waste heat into 15kW,.

What a great idea.

fostertom — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 23:47:32 +0000

Posted By: WillInAberdeenSadly not Tom

Correct - not 15kW but, with 3kW as Source, for the price of 600W of electricity for the compressor only (Source-capture fan/pump not reqd, so maybe COP 5), gives 3kW out, at a temperature that's actually useable. The catch being that, unlike other 'limitless' Sources, only 3kW is available.