Heata uses server waste heat to warm household water

UK company Heata installs business computing equipment in homes and uses the heat it generates to warm domestic water. The arrangement gives businesses server capacity while directing the equipment’s waste heat to a home’s hot water cylinder.

Heata says waste heat from a single data center could provide hot water for around 30,000 homes. Its system connects a computing unit to a hot water cylinder, reducing the need for gas heating. Homes need fast broadband for data routing, and Heata pays for the additional electricity used by its mini server. The company aims to provide around 80% of the heat for a home’s heating system.

The approach has compatibility limits: Heata’s system works only with vented hot water cylinders, not unvented, pressurised cylinders. Wales-based Thermify is also seeking trial customers. Its different setup uses a HeatHub containing a cluster of Raspberry Pi Compute Modules, and can replace a home’s boiler.

The report describes data-to-heat systems as a potential alternative as new homes in the UK will no longer be permitted to have gas boilers installed from 2027 onward. It does not establish that these systems are suitable for every home.