Nerdalize, founded in 2013 by Boaz Leupe, Mathijs de Meijer and Florian Schneider, developed computers that can be mounted on walls as radiators and use the heat from computation to warm homes. Their aim is "to create a world where heating is free and sustainable computing power is an affordable commodity".
Along with heating the house, the "mini-server computers" are connected to the internet and their systems are rented to industry and academics. If they have excess capacity, they use it for good causes.
Housing servers in residential properties raises obvious security concerns, especially for the companies renting them, but Nerdalize has developed both hardware and software to prevent data breaches. If someone tries to gain unauthorised access the device will immediately shut down and wipe its hard drives.
Nerdalize's systems are still in their infancy and whether they represent viable alternatives to existing data storage or heating methods is yet to be seen. Issues over the excess heat in summer months and the time it takes for the heaters to warm up are both concerns.
361 Degrees will be watching Nerdalize with interest, to see how this innovative and exciting technology develops over the coming years.
