• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Why don't people use processing to generate our heat

hat

Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 20, 2006
Messages
21,731 (3.43/day)
Location
Ohio
System Name Starlifter :: Dragonfly
Processor i7 2600k 4.4GHz :: i5 10400
Motherboard ASUS P8P67 Pro :: ASUS Prime H570-Plus
Cooling Cryorig M9 :: Stock
Memory 4x4GB DDR3 2133 :: 2x8GB DDR4 2400
Video Card(s) PNY GTX1070 :: Integrated UHD 630
Storage Crucial MX500 1TB, 2x1TB Seagate RAID 0 :: Mushkin Enhanced 60GB SSD, 3x4TB Seagate HDD RAID5
Display(s) Onn 165hz 1080p :: Acer 1080p
Case Antec SOHO 1030B :: Old White Full Tower
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Bose Companion 2 Series III :: None
Power Supply FSP Hydro GE 550w :: EVGA Supernova 550
Software Windows 10 Pro - Plex Server on Dragonfly
Benchmark Scores >9000
Speaking strictly from the heat generation standpoint, aren't computers very inefficient? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't heat the result of wasted electricity? For example, a 90% efficient power supply draws 100w from the wall. 90w goes to the components, and the other 10w is lost as heat due to inefficiencies. I imagine components work in much the same way. As the current flows, most of it is actually used to power the components... some of it is lost as heat, because we don't have 100% efficient systems.

Therefore, using computers to generate heat is a bad idea. It's inefficient. Using a heater designed specifically to throw off heat is more efficient than loading a computer to throw off heat. Heaters are cheap compared to computers, and the energy they use is actually being used to heat the room. That said, if you have a computer generating a lot of heat anyway, finding a way to use the heat output wouldn't be such a horrible idea. I used to have heaters like this at one apartment I lived at. It was basically a big radiator that ran along the length of the wall. The fins were electrically heated and dumped heat into the room. Perhaps it would be possible to use some heatpipes to connect something like that to your heatsink base, using the heater as a heatsink. I imagine such a project would be costly and inconvenient, however, even if it did work.
 
Joined
Nov 2, 2008
Messages
887 (0.16/day)
Processor Intel Core i3-8100
Motherboard ASRock H370 Pro4
Cooling Cryorig M9i
Memory 16GB G.Skill Aegis DDR4-2400
Video Card(s) Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 WindForce OC 3GB
Storage Crucial MX500 512GB SSD
Display(s) Dell S2316M LCD
Case Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC892
Power Supply Corsair CX600M
Mouse Logitech M500
Keyboard Lenovo KB1021 USB
Software Windows 10 Professional x64
The OP's idea has more merit in a business environment. If I could capture the waste heat from my server room and blow it around the office, that would put a noticeable dent in our heating bill every winter. Efficiency isn't an issue here because those servers are running 24/7/365, and their heat is a useful by-product (during the cold months, anyway). As it stands now, we're using air conditioners to dump that heat outside.
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2017
Messages
328 (0.12/day)
System Name Burning a hole through my wallet
Processor 3700X
Motherboard Maximus 8 Hero
Cooling Custom loop (EK Extreme 360 Rad, Supremacy evo w/AM4 bracket)
Memory 2x16 Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB @3200MHz
Video Card(s) EVGA 2080s hybrid
Storage 960 Evo, 660p, P1, BX500, 2XWD Black, Ironwolf Proo
Display(s) Predator 27" 4k 144hz HDR
Case NZXT h700i
Power Supply EVGA G3 850
Mouse Logitech G502 hero
Keyboard Drop ALT W/holypanda switches
Software Win 10 Pro 64, Ubuntu 20.04, Manjaro (latest)
Speaking strictly from the heat generation standpoint, aren't computers very inefficient? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't heat the result of wasted electricity? For example, a 90% efficient power supply draws 100w from the wall. 90w goes to the components, and the other 10w is lost as heat due to inefficiencies. I imagine components work in much the same way. As the current flows, most of it is actually used to power the components... some of it is lost as heat, because we don't have 100% efficient systems.

Therefore, using computers to generate heat is a bad idea. It's inefficient. Using a heater designed specifically to throw off heat is more efficient than loading a computer to throw off heat. Heaters are cheap compared to computers, and the energy they use is actually being used to heat the room. That said, if you have a computer generating a lot of heat anyway, finding a way to use the heat output wouldn't be such a horrible idea. I used to have heaters like this at one apartment I lived at. It was basically a big radiator that ran along the length of the wall. The fins were electrically heated and dumped heat into the room. Perhaps it would be possible to use some heatpipes to connect something like that to your heatsink base, using the heater as a heatsink. I imagine such a project would be costly and inconvenient, however, even if it did work.
The other 90w of power is also lost as heat in your system as computers are 100% efficient at turning electricity into heat (a small percentage of that technically goes to spinning the fans). Computers don't draw enough power to heat as efficiently as a higher wattage heater.
 

Toothless

Tech, Games, and TPU!
Supporter
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Messages
9,226 (2.52/day)
Location
Washington, USA
System Name Veral
Processor 5950x
Motherboard MSI MEG x570 Ace
Cooling Corsair H150i Elite
Memory 4x16GB G.Skill TridentZ
Video Card(s) Powercolor 7900XTX Red Devil
Storage Crucial P5 Plus 1TB, Samsung 980 1TB, Teamgroup MP34 4TB
Display(s) Acer Nitro XZ342CK Pbmiiphx + 2x AOC 2425W
Case Fractal Design Meshify Lite 2
Audio Device(s) Blue Yeti + SteelSeries Arctis 5 / Samsung HW-T550
Power Supply Corsair HX850
Mouse Corsair Nightsword
Keyboard Corsair K55
VR HMD HP Reverb G2
Software Windows 11 Professional
Benchmark Scores PEBCAK
The other 90w of power is also lost as heat in your system as computers are 100% efficient at turning electricity into heat (a small percentage of that technically goes to spinning the fans). Computers don't draw enough power to heat as efficiently as a higher wattage heater.
My two GTX780s heat my room up even if i leave my window open and its 0c outside. It's like a nice comfortable temp in ny room.
 

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Messages
23,313 (3.77/day)
Location
London,UK
System Name Codename: Icarus Mk.VI
Processor Intel 8600k@Stock -- pending tuning
Motherboard Asus ROG Strixx Z370-F
Cooling CPU: BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 {1xCorsair ML120 Pro|5xML140 Pro}
Memory 32GB XPG Gammix D10 {2x16GB}
Video Card(s) ASUS Dual Radeon™ RX 6700 XT OC Edition
Storage Samsung 970 Evo 512GB SSD (Boot)|WD SN770 (Gaming)|2x 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300|2x 2TB Crucial BX500
Display(s) LG GP850-B
Case Corsair 760T (White)
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V573|Speakers: JBL Control One|Auna 300-CN|Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Power Supply Corsair AX760
Mouse Logitech G900
Keyboard Duckyshine Dead LED(s) III
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
My two GTX780s heat my room up even if i leave my window open and its 0c outside. It's like a nice comfortable temp in ny room.

I remember when my 6970s used to do that Both cards ran at just under 90'c (stock reference cooler) when playing BF3
 
Joined
Oct 17, 2012
Messages
9,781 (2.34/day)
Location
Massachusetts
System Name Americas cure is the death of Social Justice & Political Correctness
Processor i7-11700K
Motherboard Asrock Z590 Extreme wifi 6E
Cooling Noctua NH-U12A
Memory 32GB Corsair RGB fancy boi 5000
Video Card(s) RTX 3090 Reference
Storage Samsung 970 Evo 1Tb + Samsung 970 Evo 500Gb
Display(s) Dell - 27" LED QHD G-SYNC x2
Case Fractal Design Meshify-C
Audio Device(s) on board
Power Supply Seasonic Focus+ Gold 1000 Watt
Mouse Logitech G502 spectrum
Keyboard AZIO MGK-1 RGB (Kaith Blue)
Software Win 10 Professional 64 bit
Benchmark Scores the MLGeesiest
For many years I've considered things like this, and many different capacities. For instance having a battery cell in the trunk of the vehicle which collects energy generated by both the vehicles tires spinning and in particular the friction combined with the spinning when the brakes are applied. There's so many sources of energy wasted similar to that one. I remember in my old home watching my Oil furnace burner exhaust, and the dryers exhaust blowing hot air out into the environment and thinking I wish it could've been vented under my driveway to keep ice from forming.

But at the end of the day at least here in the US companies don't want customers, they want CONSUMErs,in other words people who we buy an item consume it and dispose of it, therefore requiring a new item to replace the first.

Which is bad for the environment, bad for the consumer, and although it's profitable for the company in the beginning in the short term bad for the company toO
 
Joined
Mar 10, 2010
Messages
11,878 (2.31/day)
Location
Manchester uk
System Name RyzenGtEvo/ Asus strix scar II
Processor Amd R5 5900X/ Intel 8750H
Motherboard Crosshair hero8 impact/Asus
Cooling 360EK extreme rad+ 360$EK slim all push, cpu ek suprim Gpu full cover all EK
Memory Corsair Vengeance Rgb pro 3600cas14 16Gb in four sticks./16Gb/16GB
Video Card(s) Powercolour RX7900XT Reference/Rtx 2060
Storage Silicon power 2TB nvme/8Tb external/1Tb samsung Evo nvme 2Tb sata ssd/1Tb nvme
Display(s) Samsung UAE28"850R 4k freesync.dell shiter
Case Lianli 011 dynamic/strix scar2
Audio Device(s) Xfi creative 7.1 on board ,Yamaha dts av setup, corsair void pro headset
Power Supply corsair 1200Hxi/Asus stock
Mouse Roccat Kova/ Logitech G wireless
Keyboard Roccat Aimo 120
VR HMD Oculus rift
Software Win 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores 8726 vega 3dmark timespy/ laptop Timespy 6506
The other 90w of power is also lost as heat in your system as computers are 100% efficient at turning electricity into heat (a small percentage of that technically goes to spinning the fans). Computers don't draw enough power to heat as efficiently as a higher wattage heater.
In my present case my PC is 90% efficient at 24/7 simulations and 100% just right to heat my room.
A heater would be more efficient at heating but it's shit at crysis let alone running Sims.
You shouldn't look upon it solely on heat output , with the right use case it's doubly efficient.
 
Joined
Jan 4, 2017
Messages
431 (0.16/day)
Location
Ohio
I agree that an enterprise environment would be better suited for this theory. Judging by how much heat this equipment puts out in both our Main Closet and our Server Room, it seems backwards that instead of utilizing the waste heat, we blow A/C in there 24/7. In theory this would make sense, but with most technology budgets, it is easier said than done. It seems at Datacenter level this is already used in some places: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/building-science/using-server-farms-heat-buildings
 
Joined
Nov 15, 2005
Messages
1,007 (0.15/day)
Processor 2500K @ 4.5GHz 1.28V
Motherboard ASUS P8P67 Deluxe
Cooling Corsair A70
Memory 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair Vengeance 1600 9-9-9-24 1T
Video Card(s) eVGA GTX 470
Storage Crucial m4 128GB + Seagate RAID 1 (1TB x 2)
Display(s) Dell 22" 1680x1050 nothing special
Case Antec 300
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply PC Power & Cooling 750W
Software Windows 7 64bit Pro

FordGT90Concept

"I go fast!1!11!1!"
Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
26,259 (4.65/day)
Location
IA, USA
System Name BY-2021
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile)
Motherboard MSI B550 Gaming Plus
Cooling Scythe Mugen (rev 5)
Memory 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
Storage Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X20 TB 7200 RPM
Display(s) Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI)
Case Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay + USB 3.2 (A+C) 3.5" bay
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+
Power Supply Enermax Platimax 850w
Mouse Nixeus REVEL-X
Keyboard Tesoro Excalibur
Software Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare.
Datacenters should be built adjacent to office buildings. In the winter, they could use that electronic heat to offset heating costs.
 
Top