This UK startup engineered a clever way to reuse waste heat from cloud computing

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🗞️ Driving the news: Heata, an English startup, has created an innovative cloud network that uses the heat generated by computer processors to provide free hot water
• Co-founded by physicist Chris Jordan, the system has been prototyped in Godalming, England, and leverages technology that allows excess heat from computing to be transferred to home boilers

🔭 The context: The use of computers' wasted heat for other purposes has been a concept in the works, but only now has it been executed effectively
• By connecting servers to home boilers via a patented thermal bridge, Heata offers a unique solution to both heating and sustainable data management
• The startup has become part of Innovate UK's Net Zero Cohort

🌎 Why does it matter for the planet: Heata's method introduces a radical shift towards sustainable data centers and reduces energy-intensive cooling methods
• Each server installed prevents one ton of carbon dioxide equivalent per year from being emitted

⏭️ What's next: After a successful trial in Surrey County, with 80 units installed and 30 more slated for installation by October's end, Heata's solution is set to expand
• By using electricity twice and reducing emissions, it may become a model for sustainable technological innovation

💬 One quote: "Heata's solution is particularly elegant, using electricity twice—providing services to a rapidly growing industry (cloud computing) and providing domestic hot water" (Mike Pitts, deputy challenge director of Innovate UK)

📈 One stat: Each Heata server prevents one ton of carbon dioxide equivalent per year from being emitted and saves homeowners an average of £250 on hot water annually
• A considerable discount in a region where 13% of inhabitants struggle to afford heat

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