Using Folding@Home as an Alternative Heater

[Kiyometa]

So! I live in a small 420 sq foot apartment and since the temperature has started to decrease, instead of running my furnace, I decided to start folding@home. Not only has this allowed me to basically turn off my AC/heating, but it has kept me apartment nice and toasty! I got home from work the other day and it was 78 degrees F, had to crack the window!
If you were reluctant to run Folding@home before, think of all the money you can save (or use alternatively on computers power cost) to heat your home!

Please, if anyone else uses this to heat their apartment/home, share your story!

[Electronics Wizardy]

the only problem here its much more expensive to use reistive heat from a computer or other reistive heater, than a gas furnance or a heat pump. But if it works for you, thats cool

[Kiyometa]

Well, I'm totally not thinking I'm ACTUALLY saving money, but it gives me enough of an excuse to do Folding@home for the winter, which is a good cause. But the way you worded it does sound much more sciency =D

[Gorgon]

Depends on your cost of electricity. Where I live in Canada it averages out to about 13 cents per KWh. I look at the 400W or so I’m outputting now as preheating the intake air for my mid efficiency Natural Gas furnace 

 

I estimate my electricity costs for Folding 24x7 to be about $38/mo. Our heating season here is about 8 months so the wate heat from folding is offset by the decreased work required by the furnace. We have about a 2 month range in the summer when the A/C needs to be run so that waste heat needs to be included and 2 months where the heating and A/C is off. So, in all for about 6 months of the year I would guesstimate that about 50 - 70% of the heat from folding is offset by the savings in Gas.

 

Granted that electric is always more expensive than Gas or Diesel for Heating, in Canada, compared to Europe and some parts of the States, Electricity is not that expensive.

[Kiyometa]

I live in the overly big headed state of Texas, so electricity cost isn't too bad here. I pay somewhere between $0.13 to $0.14 per kWh.  I've heard of someones costs going all the way up to the thirtys cents per kWh in different areas.... that would suck.

[Metallus97]

Yeeeees i am in Germany and i pay ~0,30$ per kWh 

this is due to the switch to renewables here. Well I support renewables but yeeeze there expensive 

 

but still: I am in folding! Tomorrow the final tuning will be Domen and then I’ll leave it running for the whole month straight 

[GOTSpectrum]

I live in a large 4 bedroom house but I spend 90% on my time in Just one room, so instead of heating the entire house with gas I just fire up a few computers in the rooms that I use, namely my bedroom and the kitchen. It works out far cheaper and helps them Stanford folks. Also during the mining crisis I mined and basically got paid to heat my home!  

[Kiyometa]

37 minutes ago, Metallus97 said:

Yeeeees i am in Germany and i pay ~0,30$ per kWh 

this is due to the switch to renewables here. Well I support renewables but yeeeze there expensive 

 

but still: I am in folding! Tomorrow the final tuning will be Domen and then I’ll leave it running for the whole month straight 

Owch! Though if that was the price to go to renewables I'd probably just eat the cost. Renewable energy is still pretty subsidized here in the states so the cost isn't too different.
 

 

37 minutes ago, Ben Quigley said:

I live in a large 4 bedroom house but I spend 90% on my time in Just one room, so instead of heating the entire house with gas I just fire up a few computers in the rooms that I use, namely my bedroom and the kitchen. It works out far cheaper and helps them Stanford folks. Also during the mining crisis I mined and basically got paid to heat my home!  

Thats smart! In Japan, a lot of homes have a heater in the main living area of a home only because that is where the family will meet and congregate, when they go to their rooms, they typically will huddle up in bed/futons and so it being a bit cooler is not a big deal.

For myself, I live in an efficiency, so its ALL just one room ;-P. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn off the folding today because it was warm out today and it got to like 85 in my apartment.

[Imbellis]

On 10/28/2018 at 6:48 PM, Kiyometa said:

Owch! Though if that was the price to go to renewables I'd probably just eat the cost. Renewable energy is still pretty subsidized here in the states so the cost isn't too different.

 

Yeah. My hometown in Tx is *"100% renewable" running at ~14c /kWh.

 

 

*heavily subsidized and drawing from external grids.

[Kiyometa]

4 hours ago, Imbellis said:

Yeah. My hometown in Tx is *"100% renewable" running at ~14c /kWh.

 

 

*heavily subsidized and drawing from external grids.

I'm really surprised its still subsidized right now, would have thought that would have been cut by now by sitting president.

 

Edit: Err, not go to off track, sorry.

[GOTSpectrum]

On 10/30/2018 at 2:06 AM, Imbellis said:

Yeah. My hometown in Tx is *"100% renewable" running at ~14c /kWh.

 

 

*heavily subsidized and drawing from external grids.

I pay £0.136/kWh for 80% renewable power here.