英國天然氣試驗使用數據處理中的過多熱量來在房屋中提供免費的熱水

該公司已與可持續的雲業務Heata簽署了一項協議，該協議將看到公司數據處理產生的熱量直接引入家中熱水缸。

British Gas is trialing a scheme to use excess heat from data processing to provide free hot water in homes.

英國天然氣正在試用一項計劃，以使用數據處理中的過量熱量來在家庭中提供免費的熱水。

The company has signed a deal with sustainable cloud business heata, which will see the heat generated by corporate data processing channeled directly into hot water cylinders in the home.

該公司已與可持續的雲業務Heata簽署了一項協議，該協議將使公司數據處理產生的熱量直接引入了家中熱水氣缸。

As well as cutting heating costs for homeowners, British Gas said the scheme also avoids the need for energy-intensive cooling in the data center.

英國汽油表示，除了降低房主的供暖成本外，該計劃還避免了數據中心的能源密集型冷卻。

The system works through a small compute unit that’s attached to the resident's hot water cylinder. This works as a tiny ‘virtual data center’, processing data for cloud computing customers while providing free hot water for the homeowner.

該系統通過附在居民熱水缸上的小型計算單元工作。這是一個很小的“虛擬數據中心”，為雲計算客戶處理數據，同時為房主提供免費的熱水。

Each heata unit can provide up to 4kWh of hot water per day, according to the company.

該公司稱，每個Heata單元每天最多可提供4KWH的熱水。

British Gas has now officially launched the trial scheme, running its own data processing workloads on the heata units in ten employees' homes.

英國天然氣現在已正式啟動了試用計劃，並在十個員工的房屋中的Heata單位上運行了自己的數據處理工作負載。

“Waste heat is a big problem for data centers, leading to significant energy costs for cooling. Yet heat is valuable. On the other side of the coin you have an energy crisis and people struggling to heat their homes,” said Chris Jordan, co-founder of heata.

“對於數據中心來說，廢熱是一個大問題，導致了巨大的冷卻能源成本。但是熱量很有價值。在硬幣的另一側，您遇到了能源危機，人們努力為自己的房屋加熱。”

“British Gas launching this trial is a huge step and we would love to see other firms following their lead. Being able to say you have reduced your compute carbon footprint and provided free hot water to people during an energy crisis is hugely powerful for companies who take pride in their sustainability and social impact.”

“英國天然氣開始這項審判是一個巨大的一步，我們很樂意看到其他公司遵循其領導。能夠說您減少了計算碳足跡，並在能源危機期間為人們提供了免費的熱水，這對於那些以其可持續性和社會影響而感到自豪的公司非常有力。”

While this is a tiny trial project, there are increasing moves to use the waste heat from data centers to power homes.

雖然這是一個很小的試用項目，但使用數據中心的廢熱進行了越來越多的動作。

The first large-scale scheme in the UK kicked off at the end of 2023 in the London boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham, Brent, and Ealing, serving 10,000 new homes and 250,000m2 of commercial space, as well as a hospital.

英國的第一個大規模計劃於2023年底在倫敦的Hammersmith和Fulham，Brent和Ealing的倫敦區開始，為10,000套新房屋和250,000平方米的商業空間提供服務，以及醫院。

“Recycling the huge amounts of wasted heat from our local data centers into heat and energy for local residents, a major hospital and other users is an exciting and innovative example of OPDC’s support for the mayor’s net zero ambitions,” said David Lunts, chief executive of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC).

首席執行官戴維·蘭特斯（David Lunts）說：“將當地數據中心浪費大量的熱量回收為當地居民的熱量和能量，一家大型醫院和其他用戶是OPDC對市長淨零野心的支持的一個令人興奮且創新的例子。”舊橡樹和公園皇家發展公司（OPDC）

A report last year from techUK said the concept of data center heat reuse had significant promise, but identified a number of problems, including seasonal fluctuations and variable energy demand.

Techuk去年的一份報告說，數據中心的熱使用概念有很大的希望，但發現了許多問題，包括季節性波動和可變的能源需求。

Meanwhile, new data centers take a while to fill, and operators have limited control over external factors such as occupancy levels. This, techUK noted, means that relying on exporting the majority of the available heat based on the maximum projected IT load carries a significant risk.

同時，新的數據中心需要一段時間才能填補，並且對外部因素（例如佔用水平）的控制有限。 Techuk指出，這意味著依靠大多數可用熱量的導出基於預計的最大載荷會帶來重大風險。

The report recommended that data centers should look to reduce their energy consumption before implementing heat reuse.

該報告建議，數據中心應在實施熱量之前減少其能耗。