'Cloud' computers could heat homes

REDMOND, Wash., July 26 (UPI) -- Microsoft says installing cloud computing servers into homes and businesses could heat them instead of wasting energy by cooling the air in server data centers.

A research paper published by Microsoft in conjunction with Virginia University researchers examined the feasibility of selling "Data Furnaces" to consumers, who would benefit by having their winter heating bills reduced down to almost zero, PhysOrg.com reported Tuesday.

Because servers generate so much heat, the paper envisioned having server "furnaces" in the basements of homes all over the country, clustered around cites where most demand for those servers exists.

Customers would purchase a server unit and have it installed in the basement, where it would heat the home, while the homeowner's existing broadband connection would connect the server to the cloud.

Larger server "farms" with more CPUs could be installed in business buildings, providing more computing power for the cloud company while reducing heating bills for the hosts, the paper said.

Cost savings for cloud computing companies could be significant, the paper's authors said, estimated at from $280 to $324 a year per server.