Data centre in the shed reduces energy bills to £40
6 hours ago Share Save Ben Schofield BBC East, political correspondent Share Save
Ben Schofield/BBC Terrence Bridges says he "can't fault the heating system", which captures heat from more than 500 mini-computers processing data
An Essex couple have become the first people in the country to trial a scheme that sees them heat their home using a data centre in their garden shed. Terrence and Lesley Bridges have seen their energy bills drop dramatically, from £375 a month down to as low as £40, since they swapped their gas boiler for a HeatHub – a small data centre containing more than 500 computers. Data centres are banks of computers which carry out digital tasks. As the computers process data, they generate lots of heat, which is captured by oil and then transferred into the Bridges' hot water system. Mr Bridges, 76, says keeping his two-bed bungalow near Braintree warm was a necessity as his wife has spinal stenosis and is in "a lot of pain" when it gets colder. "It truly is brilliant," Mr Bridges continues. "I'm over the moon that we got picked to trial this out. You can't fault the heating system – it is a 100% improvement on what we had before." "You don't need to go to a sauna after coming here," Mrs Bridges, 75, adds. The HeatHub was developed by Thermify and is part of UK Power Networks' SHIELD project, which aims to come up with innovative ways for low-income households to transition to net zero. Through SHIELD, the Bridges also had solar panels and a battery put in, which have contributed to their savings.
Ben Schofield/BBC Terrence and his wife Lesley have lived in their house for three years
Mr Bridges, a retired RAF sergeant, says despite putting "the heating up fairly high to keep it nice and warm", his bill has fallen to between £40 and £60 each month. "I think it's fantastic because it's eco-friendly," he continues, "we're not burning any gases, so it's green – it's environmentally friendly."
Ben Schofield/BBC The Bridges' shed also contains an inverter for solar panels, a battery to store electricity and a heat battery connected to the Thermify HeatHub
Thermify co-founder and CEO Travis Theune says the Bridges' HeatHub will eventually be part of a "remote and distributed" data centre, involving many units processing data for customers. While not designed for the heavy processing needed for artificial intelligence, Mr Theune says the system could run things like apps or analyse large volumes of data. He says the company wanted to design a system to provide both "clean" and "affordable" energy because "finding a way to do both was a hard problem". The project is still in the pilot phase, but in the future, clients will pay Thermify to process their data using the HeatHubs. Mr Theune adds the system provides "clean, green heat at a low-to-no price point" because "the electricity that's generating that heat is paid for by somebody else".
Ben Schofield/BBC Each module contains up to 56 Raspberry Pi computers, which are each about the size of a matchbox, says Thermify CEO Travis Theune
The Bridges' landlord, social housing provider Eastlight Community Homes, is also part of SHIELD. Daniel Greenwood, Eastlight's head of asset management, says he hopes the next phase of the project will see 50 homes get HeatHubs, and adds: "We've seen great results for the current installation, and although this is the first of its kind, we're looking to roll that out more broadly." Jack McKellar, UK Power Networks’ innovation programme manager, says: "We don't want anyone to miss out on the benefits of new and emerging technologies, as the UK moves towards a greener future."
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