Q.RAD: the radiator of the future

I recently discovered a cool project: Q.RAD — an Internet‑connected, eco‑friendly heater!

The project started from a simple observation:

On one side, Amazon/Google/Facebook… run huge datacenters that consume a lot of electricity, produce a lot of heat, and then consume even more electricity to cool everything down.

On the other side, we use heaters, water heaters and air conditioning that also consume a lot of electricity.

What is a Q.RAD? It looks like this:

The idea is simple: decentralize servers by placing them directly in people’s homes. The household gets heating “for free” (the heat produced by the server warms the room), and the server no longer needs a datacenter cooling system.

Bonus: since it’s connected, you can probably adjust temperature remotely — home automation!

Everyone wins.

You could even go further: - Use it as a water heater - In summer, heat a pool - Or drive air‑conditioning (yes, you can create cold from heat today): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC8RDZJqTV0

It could also help people regain control over their data: why store photos and music “somewhere far away” when you could have a server at home?

I also see a future for cryptocurrency mining: with Q.RAD you have compute power that isn’t running “for nothing”.

You might even rent out your compute power to offset your electricity bill.

Video presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYIywI2MgTg

Source: http://pulse.edf.com/fr/q-rad-le-radiateur-numerique-fort-en-calcul

One remaining issue: for this to be really interesting, everyone would probably need fiber Internet.