In the UK, they’ve started testing an unusual way to heat homes: using mini data centers powered by Raspberry Pis.
The project is being implemented by UK Power Networks as part of the SHIELD (Smart Heat and Intelligent Energy in Low-Income Areas) programme.
UK Power Networks operates the electricity grid and substations in southeast England and is responsible for the “last mile” of energy delivery to consumers. The SHIELD program involves installing solar panels and batteries in homes and, in some cases, replacing gas boilers with HeatHub compact data processing systems.
HeatHub is developed and operated by Thermify . Each unit contains a cluster of 500 Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 or Compute Module 5 modules, completely immersed in oil. Waste heat is used to heat spaces and hot water, making the unit a smart alternative to gas boilers.
The device connects to a dedicated Internet connection, so users don’t have to worry about using up bandwidth on their home internet connection.
According to UKPN, the pilot project involves Power Circle Projects, the social housing association Eastlight Community Homes, and Essex Community Energy. The experiment is also testing a new “social tariff” for heating: families will pay a flat rate of £5.60 per month (about $7.50). Organizers estimate the program could reduce energy bills by 20–40%.
“The results of the pilot project are very encouraging,” said Charlie Edgar, representative of Eastlight Community Homes. “We see the potential to provide families with reliable, predictable, and affordable heating, without the stress of rising bills.”
In the first phase, SHIELD is collecting data to scale up the project: UKPN hopes to install 100,000 systems per year by 2030.
Similar initiatives have already emerged in the UK. For example, Heata, a company co-founded by British Gas, offers a solution for installing servers on domestic boilers, leveraging the data processing workloads of partners like cloud provider Civo. Another company, Deep Green, uses mini data centers to heat businesses and public swimming pools , turning data processing into a heat source.
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