Imagine if your garden shed could slash your heating bills by nearly 90% while helping the planet at the same time. That’s exactly what’s happening in Essex, where a retired couple has become the first in the UK to heat their home using a data centre tucked away in their garden shed.
Terrence and Lesley Bridges have watched their monthly energy bills plummet from ÂŁ375 to as low as ÂŁ40 since they swapped their traditional gas boiler for a HeatHub – a compact data centre packed with more than 500 mini-computers. Here’s the clever part: as these computers process data, they generate heat that’s captured by oil and transferred directly into the couple’s hot water system. It’s like getting free heating while the computers do their digital work.
For the Bridges, this isn’t just about saving money. Terrence’s wife Lesley has spinal stenosis, making warmth a medical necessity during colder months. “It truly is brilliant,” says Terrence, 76, a retired RAF sergeant. “I’m over the moon that we got picked to trial this out. You can’t fault the heating system – it is a 100% improvement on what we had before.”
The technology, developed by Thermify as part of UK Power Networks’ SHIELD project, addresses a growing challenge: data centres currently consume about 2.5% of the UK’s electricity, with demand expected to quadruple by 2030. Instead of wasting the heat these computers generate, why not use it to warm homes?
What makes this particularly exciting is the potential for low-income households to transition to net zero without the financial burden. The Bridges also received solar panels and a battery through the project, creating a complete eco-friendly energy system. And because clients pay Thermify to process their data, homeowners get “clean, green heat at a low-to-no price point,” according to CEO Travis Theune.
The pilot is just the beginning. Social housing provider Eastlight Community Homes hopes to roll out HeatHubs to 50 homes in the next phase, proving that innovative thinking can make green energy both accessible and affordable.
Read the full article on BBC News to discover more about this groundbreaking heating solution and how it could transform the way we warm our homes.
