Harnessing wasted heat? Post your pics and ideas!

[Fuzzy]

Following a recent discussion, I thought it would be cool to start a thread so people can bounce ideas off of each other on all the possible ways of capturing the heat that mining rigs give off.

Since ~99% of the power consumed is converted to heat, there's a lot of potential for recouping or re-purposing that energy.

Obviously if you ever turn the heaters on in your house, a mining rig can offset some of the heating required, but I'd like to see what other creative ideas people might have.


Here are a few suggestions I've seen on this forum:

If I was generating that much heat, I'd probably figure out a way to heat my hot water with it too...lol.

I have a liquid cooled miner.  It is dead silent,  but the main point is that it heats our bathroom floor.  Pictures says more than words, so I attached a few.

Tubes under my bathroom floor and one of the temperature sensors (inside a blue shrink hose).  This is now buried in cement and covered with nice tiles.

The best thing about my water cooling and floor heating is that my wife keeps nagging me to buy a second 5970 to make the floor warmer.  Beat this with a air cooled system. :-)

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[Cubic Earth]

That is the end-all and be-all of efficiency.  It's called co-generation on an industrial scale, and you are harnessing the concept of entropy to its fullest.  Electricity is a very high quality form of energy, and heat is the lowest.  If you live in a place where electric heat is economical, there is no cost associated with mining in the winter, at least as far as the electric component  is concerned.  I like the food dehydration picture.  Bitcoin permaculture.  Let me be the first to put those words in the same sentence.

[chr0me]

You should totally put those dried strawberries up for sale!

Don't know about you, but they're super expensive here. That's if you can find them.

[Notanon]

When I build my rig a month or two down the track, I'll run it during the night in my bedroom instead of using the reverse-cycle air conditioner to warm it, as it'll be near the end of autumn by then. I'm also planning to install thermal curtains with pelmets on both windows along with possibly external blinds and rechecking the insulation in the roof for maximum effect in keeping the heat in and making things cozy.

[Gator-hex]

Besides having one in each room to provide free heating from waste power..

..in the past I've used it to heat a tropical fish aquarium and a lizard vivarium.

[Fuzzy]

Electricity is a very high quality form of energy, and heat is the lowest.

This would suggest that converting heat to any other form of useful energy may not be worth the effort.

So any method of harnessing heat would most likely still involve heating something.

Add a pinch of thermodynamic law and you're looking at a theoretical maximum temperature of whatever your Rig temp is (50-80'c).


So those are more or less your boundary conditions, do something creative with a 50'c air source.

[vapourminer]

move your mining kit down to your basement and use an air source hot water heater.

http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/heat-pump-water-heaters

I have geothermal AC/heat/hot water preheat (desuperheater), with one of these air source heat pump water heaters as the final heat source for my hot water.

it cools and dehumidifies your basement, transferring that waste heat into the tank.

basically, as close to free hot water as you can get, as the more you use, the cooler and drier your basement will be. I no longer need a dehumidifier running 24/7 in my basement in the summer. win!

the only minus is they are noisy (two stage fan on mine).

[Hippie Tech]

I'll bet those strawberries taste like they were steamed by thermal paste. :/

Breathing the heat generated from computers/ electronics/ cars ect.. is NOT safe !

[Cranky4u]

I am planning to place a PET between my GPU chips and the heatsink to claw back an estimated 40W of the 110W consumed for each 6770. Pics pending Easter hols.

[crazyates]

I'll bet those strawberries taste like they were steamed by thermal paste. :/

Breathing the heat generated from computers/ electronics/ cars ect.. is NOT safe !

Breathing the air heated by cars is perfectly safe. Breathing the heated exhaust from a car is NOT safe. See the difference? One is simple air that has been heated, the other is chemically imbalanced to be toxic.

Heat generated by GPUs are perfectly safe, as there is no combustion or chemical reaction. The "exhaust" air that is being vented by a GPU has simply been heated, not altered in any way.

[malevolent]

I'll bet those strawberries taste like they were steamed by thermal paste. :/

Breathing the heat generated from computers/ electronics/ cars ect.. is NOT safe !

Breathing the air heated by cars is perfectly safe. Breathing the heated exhaust from a car is NOT safe. See the difference? One is simple air that has been heated, the other is chemically imbalanced to be toxic.

Heat generated by GPUs are perfectly safe, as there is no combustion or chemical reaction. The "exhaust" air that is being vented by a GPU has simply been heated, not altered in any way.

Actually he has a point. Computers/electronic are a source of positive ions which are unhealthy, it's good to have salt lamps.

[Hippie Tech]

I'll bet those strawberries taste like they were steamed by thermal paste. :/

Breathing the heat generated from computers/ electronics/ cars ect.. is NOT safe !

Breathing the air heated by cars is perfectly safe. Breathing the heated exhaust from a car is NOT safe. See the difference? One is simple air that has been heated, the other is chemically imbalanced to be toxic.

Heat generated by GPUs are perfectly safe, as there is no combustion or chemical reaction. The "exhaust" air that is being vented by a GPU has simply been heated, not altered in any way.

The air is being altered by the fumes that the thermal paste, pcb, capacitors, ect. emit when running at those high temps.

I'm surprised that you do not smell it.

@malevolent +1

Salt lamps eh ?.. I'll definitely look into that.

pEACe

[malevolent]

@malevolent +1
Salt lamps eh ?.. I'll definitely look into that.
pEACe

Clarification: apparently salt lamps don't work. I used to use air purifiers while mining and thought salt lamps were superior but just now decided too look into it more and more. OTOH air purifiers are a completely different thing and advisable to use if one sleeps in the same room with mining rigs working.

http://aaqr.org/VOL11_No2_April2011/9_AAQR-10-06-OA-0048_179-186.pdf

[crazyates]

Actually he has a point. Computers/electronic are a source of positive ions which are unhealthy, it's good to have salt lamps.

Positive ions are unhealthy? Wtf? Please link a medical journal or something that can backup what you're saying, cuz I think it's horse shit.

The air is being altered by the fumes that the thermal paste, pcb, capacitors, ect. emit when running at those high temps.

I'm surprised that you do not smell it.

Are we talking about positive ions, or toxic fumes? You guys seem like you're contradicting each other. And I'll ask you the same thing: please post a medical journal or some other legitimate source that proves that computer hardware or electronic equipment at high temps can release toxic fumes.

And no, I don't smell anything.

Clarification: apparently salt lamps don't work. I used to use air purifiers while mining and thought salt lamps were superior but just now decided too look into it more and more. OTOH air purifiers are a completely different thing and advisable to use if one sleeps in the same room with mining rigs working.

http://aaqr.org/VOL11_No2_April2011/9_AAQR-10-06-OA-0048_179-186.pdf

So according to you, salt lamps are a scam, and air ionizers (which are different than air purifiers with a filter) are what you really want, cuz they can "control ultrafine aerosol pollutants in cleanrooms... at a height of 60 cm (2 feet) from the floor."
Bold and parenthesis added by me.

I don't know about you, but I don't live in a clean room, and I usually breathe with my head more than 2ft above the ground, and this is the first I've heard of GPUs giving off "aerosol pollutants".

[Photon939]

If your GPUs are running at temperatures that cause the cards to release any kind of smell they're not long for this world 

In the case of a GPU the air comes into contact with the aluminum and copper heatsink as well as the circuit board to a lesser extent. If breathing air blown over circuit boards was unhealthy datacenters would be deadly to humans 

[malevolent]

If your GPUs are running at temperatures that cause the cards to release any kind of smell they're not long for this world  

In the case of a GPU the air comes into contact with the aluminum and copper heatsink as well as the circuit board to a lesser extent. If breathing air blown over circuit boards was unhealthy datacenters would be deadly to humans  

Have you ever been to a datacenter? They usually (at least in European ones I saw) have strict rules regarding air conditioning to ensure there is proper humidity and fresh air that doesn't affect hardware longevity.
As for the above I'll addess it soon.

[christop]

If your GPUs are running at temperatures that cause the cards to release any kind of smell they're not long for this world 

In the case of a GPU the air comes into contact with the aluminum and copper heatsink as well as the circuit board to a lesser extent. If breathing air blown over circuit boards was unhealthy datacenters would be deadly to humans 

Have you ever been to a datacenter? They usually (at least in European ones I saw) have strict rules regarding air conditioning to ensure their is proper humidity and fresh air that doesn't affect hardware longevity.
As for the above I'll addess it soon.

Those air conditioning rules are, as you mentioned, designed to maximize the life of the hardware. They do not exist for any health-related reasons.

[malevolent]

Actually he has a point. Computers/electronic are a source of positive ions which are unhealthy, it's good to have salt lamps.

Positive ions are unhealthy? Wtf? Please link a medical journal or something that can backup what you're saying, cuz I think it's horse shit.

Here you go:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7113513
http://www.ionovate.com/images/bioai.pdf

Those air conditioning rules are, as you mentioned, designed to maximize the life of the hardware. They do not exist for any health-related reasons.

Yes, but the 'side-effect' of enforcing those rules is that AFAIK breathing in a datacenter has no (or less) potential for harm.

[Fuzzy]

Wow, this got off topic pretty fast, barely half a page in  

I am planning to place a PET between my GPU chips and the heatsink to claw back an estimated 40W of the 110W consumed for each 6770. Pics pending Easter hols.

Are PET units nearly as efficient in reverse? And what do you plug the return power into?

[Photon939]

I've worked on the building automation system for several large AT&T facilities that house massive amounts of computers and networking switchgear. The building ventilation systems are not set any different for the server rooms versus those that contain offices for the employees. All facility air handlers were set to minimum outdoor air quantity. (outside air dampers set to 10% unless running in free cooling modes) Any greater would waste large amounts of power from dumping conditioned air outside to bring in fresh.

Fancier facilities usually install carbon dioxide sensors to determine how much outside air to use. In the case of a datacenter, (low ratio of people to computers) the dampers would likely only run 5% or less to keep CO2 levels at desired levels.

[DrG]

Actually he has a point. Computers/electronic are a source of positive ions which are unhealthy, it's good to have salt lamps.

Positive ions are unhealthy? Wtf? Please link a medical journal or something that can backup what you're saying, cuz I think it's horse shit.

The air is being altered by the fumes that the thermal paste, pcb, capacitors, ect. emit when running at those high temps.

I'm surprised that you do not smell it.

Are we talking about positive ions, or toxic fumes? You guys seem like you're contradicting each other. And I'll ask you the same thing: please post a medical journal or some other legitimate source that proves that computer hardware or electronic equipment at high temps can release toxic fumes.

And no, I don't smell anything.

Clarification: apparently salt lamps don't work. I used to use air purifiers while mining and thought salt lamps were superior but just now decided too look into it more and more. OTOH air purifiers are a completely different thing and advisable to use if one sleeps in the same room with mining rigs working.

http://aaqr.org/VOL11_No2_April2011/9_AAQR-10-06-OA-0048_179-186.pdf

So according to you, salt lamps are a scam, and air ionizers (which are different than air purifiers with a filter) are what you really want, cuz they can "control ultrafine aerosol pollutants in cleanrooms... at a height of 60 cm (2 feet) from the floor."
Bold and parenthesis added by me.

I don't know about you, but I don't live in a clean room, and I usually breathe with my head more than 2ft above the ground, and this is the first I've heard of GPUs giving off "aerosol pollutants".

Crazyates, what they are referring to are VOC - volatile organic compounds.   They are the major component of indoor pollution.  The CA Air Resource Board even made laws a few years back restricting VOCs so now even wood cabinets can't be made in CA lol.  A quick google search of computer VOCs shows this: http://beesl.syr.edu/pdf/Officeenvironment-abstract.pdf

There is a definite smell when using electronics.  They are not inert systems and they do decay and give off toxic chemicals.  One miner not a big deal - a mining farm probably is.

[Gator-hex]

There are no dangerous gases coming off your PC.  

E.U. even took the lead out of the solder to protect the people recycling components!

The smell from new electronics is flux and it burns off pretty fast and is harmless.

The biggest danger from running PC's 24x7 is dust build up which I've seen set on fire!

So keep the CPU, GPU and PSU heatsinks clean.

Pulling the dust out of the air is probably beneficial for health especially if you have asthma.

[c0ikws]

Personally I have a bitcoin mining rig in the same big closet which I ferment beer in. The temperature helps ferment my homemade beer better during winter . Anyone wants a glass of bitcoin beer ?

[W-M]

Personally I have a bitcoin mining rig in the same big closet which I ferment beer in. The temperature helps ferment my homemade beer better during winter . Anyone wants a glass of bitcoin beer ?

I think you could probably sell that bitcoin beer for quite some profit. 

[Jay_Pal]

Personally I have a bitcoin mining rig in the same big closet which I ferment beer in. The temperature helps ferment my homemade beer better during winter . Anyone wants a glass of bitcoin beer ?

I would buy if you managed to make it arrive to Portugal!!
But I think it wouldn't pass the local customs here.
Even so, start doing business and sell some BitBottles!! Why not?!
Here's a brand for you: BitBeer!! :p

[c0ikws]

Personally I have a bitcoin mining rig in the same big closet which I ferment beer in. The temperature helps ferment my homemade beer better during winter . Anyone wants a glass of bitcoin beer ?

I would buy if you managed to make it arrive to Portugal!!
But I think it wouldn't pass the local customs here.
Even so, start doing business and sell some BitBottles!! Why not?!
Here's a brand for you: BitBeer!! :p

At the price of BTC, that's the only currency i'd accept

[Jay_Pal]

Personally I have a bitcoin mining rig in the same big closet which I ferment beer in. The temperature helps ferment my homemade beer better during winter . Anyone wants a glass of bitcoin beer ?

I would buy if you managed to make it arrive to Portugal!!
But I think it wouldn't pass the local customs here.
Even so, start doing business and sell some BitBottles!! Why not?!
Here's a brand for you: BitBeer!! :p

At the price of BTC, that's the only currency i'd accept

Wanna try to make a deal?
Trying not to be too much off topic, how much would you ask me to get a pair of bottles in my country?
I'd suggest 0.15BTC, just to have a taste of that delicacy!
That way me and my friend would be using bitcoins to cool ourself down!

BTW, anybody here have any experience in electronics and T.I. MSP430 Launchpad?? I wanted do use MSP430 and a thermistor I have lying around to create and measure temperature in a controlled environment so I could test some cooling concepts.
I'd prefer the MSP430 since I already have one. I just don't have a clue how to connect the thermistor and program it.

[PulsedMedia]

If your GPUs are running at temperatures that cause the cards to release any kind of smell they're not long for this world  

In the case of a GPU the air comes into contact with the aluminum and copper heatsink as well as the circuit board to a lesser extent. If breathing air blown over circuit boards was unhealthy datacenters would be deadly to humans  

Have you ever been to a datacenter? They usually (at least in European ones I saw) have strict rules regarding air conditioning to ensure there is proper humidity and fresh air that doesn't affect hardware longevity.
As for the above I'll addess it soon.

Fully meant to maximize the life time of the hardware, and to maximize reliablity. No other reason those strict rules exist.
Many smaller DCs infact have *no* outside "fresh" air circulation, mostly the same air keeps on moving around. Infact, some shun away because of the heavy requirement on filtration of the incoming air due to dust and other pollutants. You want to keep your servers very clean

[szita2000]

My wife dries all the washed clothes with my miner