Heat from data center used to warm Swiss swimming pool

Here's a novel idea: rather than stressing over the choice between solar or hydroelectric power sources to keep that green data center running, just build the thing near a community pool. Apparently that's exactly what's happening in Uitikon, Switzerland, as an IBM-built center erected for GIB-Services AG is using its excess heat to warm a local swimming pool. Put simply, the warmth emitted by the computers will be piped through a heat exchanger to boost the temperature of water used in the neighboring pool, and while the town had to cover some of the equipment costs to make it come together, it'll reap the oh-so-steamy benefits for free.

[Via FashionFunky, thanks Yash]

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 3rd 2008 6:58PM]

@John: "And as everybody knows watts are a measure of electricity not heat."

We do? I thought it was a unit of power.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 3rd 2008 8:02PM]

While it may be more thermodynamically efficient... I'll take the computer to play with over the gas-fired furnace any day.

[n3rdftw Posted Apr 3rd 2008 8:18PM]

@Anonymoose

so is that what you do with all your computers running microsoft?

GO APPLE!!!

sorry, trying to figure out which type of fanboy is more idiotic. i'm beginning to think fanboy anything is idiotic. or maybe that's just my 8 year high school education talking.


8 years in high school?
that must have been fun

[RioRyan Posted Apr 3rd 2008 11:02PM]

This isn't gizmodo, use the reply button.

When it isn't working, click on the date of the comment to to go the seperate thread and reply there.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 3rd 2008 8:19PM]

I also use my 360 to heat my hands while I play, and then I can keep the house cool...I don't mind it being cold except when my hands get numb :P

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 3rd 2008 8:27PM]

that is the single greatest idea ever!

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 3rd 2008 8:32PM]

Watts are not a unit of electricity but of energy, which heat is as well. You can measure heat in watts. The other thing is, you can't say "megawatts per year", since it would be the same as, say, "horsepower per mile" - you have a unit mismatch. They probably meant megawatt-hours per year, that would work and, as mentioned above, would recalculate to an average load of 320 kilowatts, which seems to be OK for a data center in my eyes.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 3rd 2008 8:33PM]

oh great, reply system doesnt work... sorry for in that useless comment :(

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 3rd 2008 8:34PM]

Correct John.

The last time I checked there was a real solid relationship between power and energy (Joules).

Whenever current flows in a conductor, power is dissipated in the resistance of the conductor in the form of heat.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 3rd 2008 8:42PM]

NO SHIT!

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 3rd 2008 8:50PM]

@Looseintheduece

YEa, but Gas furnaces can't surf da web or type replies on Engadget, hence the Computer.

Whatever does more things at once trumps all.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 3rd 2008 8:54PM]

IT already happens. They're called Natural Gas Power Plants.

[edsc86 Posted Apr 3rd 2008 10:04PM]

exactly...

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 4th 2008 2:43AM]

I understand that the data center in the Australian Parliament House (down the road from where I live) in Canberra does this.
DataCentre generates heat which heats the pool that the workers and politicians use.
Sounds like a nice gain in efficiency to me... And it has been running for years.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 3rd 2008 10:59PM]

awesome!

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 4th 2008 12:16AM]

Wow.. this is going to be a steamy affairs...

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 4th 2008 12:48AM]

Or using the 'datacentre' to build a massive WMD that will launch from the pool a la thunderbird 1?

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 4th 2008 1:42AM]

I'm quite sure i replied to a different post. I even clicked the date and got the right comment upp in display only, but still my comment ended up elsewhere!

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 4th 2008 1:42AM]

WTF! Now it happened again but to my own comment.. it's SICK!

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY Posted Apr 4th 2008 2:30AM]

It's nothing new to owners of Prescott CPUs, they too have been doing this for half a decade now.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 4th 2008 4:25AM]

IBM = Innovations ByMistake.
atleast in this case.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 4th 2008 5:52AM]

watt is a unit of power in general = joule per sec( so basically 1 unit of energy per second ). Its not a unit of electricity specifically.
BTU's would be hard to calculate and kinda inaccurate till they run studies on the working transfer system.
energy wasted as heat from computer systems is much easier to calculate though. it would just require calculating the electrical resistance of the entire system and they would know the current used in the system. with multi-fold simplification its just I.R². Obviously their calculated estimations would be slightly more complicated, but not much.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 4th 2008 6:02AM]

I realize 8 lines of copy is rather a lot for you to read in one sitting, but I suggest you examine the phrase "heat exchanger" before asking stupid questions.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 4th 2008 6:08AM]

oops, the commenting is a bit messed up, the above was meant to be somewhere else - sorry!

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 4th 2008 8:28AM]

Wow.... nice idea to actually use the heat emitted by the servers. It's almost like me using my laptop as a heater when my hands are freezing.

[itsfunhavingfun Posted Apr 4th 2008 11:51AM]

Pool or pond, the pond would be good for you.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 4th 2008 1:38PM]

Yeah, that is annoying when people make unit errors like that.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 4th 2008 4:38PM]

Everyone who works below are naked!

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 5th 2008 2:01AM]

prepare for a cold swim if they ever upgrade to energy-efficient computers down the line...