As we see ourselves firmly in the winter months, with the holiday festivities far behind us and in the midst of another lockdown, we are all spending considerable amounts of time at home, and for the most part, with our heating switched on. However, there appears to be a more technologically inspired method of heating that has been discovered by avid Bitcoin users.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Bitcoin miners were using their Cryptocurrency computers to both, engage with the online currency market and heat their homes during winter. Another way that technology might be able to improve the efficacy and cost of our home lives!
When imagining the vast complexity of computer software systems, especially ones that engage so critically with the online market, the large amount of heat expenditure is unsurprising, especially considering the sound, noise and heat that generates from a one hour Zoom call on a laptop!
The main instigator for the heat expenditure is the complex processing unit, found specifically in bitcoin mining software, but also, in a more common household item: the gaming PC. Gamer, Kyle Burger, compared the power of his own system to ‘a space heater’ when informing the Wall Street Journal.
The power of these processing units seems to have struck a humorous cord within the technology industry. Crypto Miner, Thomas Smith, compared the power of his system to a heater in a restaurant patio, claiming he made ‘a Caprese salad’ to mark the occasion.
However, the concept of these mining systems acting as heaters has not been lost amongst crypto miners as these systems have more recently been used as large heaters to regulate temperate in greenhouses and offer warmth for chicken coups – a rather bizarre but effective substitute to a radiator.
The varied uses of the crypto mining systems seem to have travelled globally as one Russian miner, has managed turn his system into a fully-functioning crypto heater and now a global company. The business, now known as Comino, was co-founded by Evgeny Vlasov and makes easy-to-use crypto mining machines that double as heaters. This invention has immense possibility to grow exponentially in popularity within the technological industry but also to eventually provide a further bridge between home and online life.
For more tips on how to maximise your household items, a fun activity to adopt during lockdown, check out this article!
