PC more efficient than a Space Heater

M

misjudgedinall

New Member
So I got a Killawatt. It tells me how many watts and amps that my electronics use. I found that my space heater uses 1500 watts and 13 amps (all from memory so I'm close with these numbers but not perfect).

Now I have several old AMD computers that are 10+ years old. When I bought them they were the best of the best. The videocards are dual slot and sound like a dust buster, they run in SLI or Crossfire so I have multiple. The power supply is rated at a high wattage and a high efficiency, but the two fans on it blow out heat that can burn your hand.... as do the video cards. The AMD processor... well yeah it gets super hot too! Now my old computers still run better than most brand new mid range PCs that you would buy from Dell (I am a computer tech and our business buys Dell, I love to benchmark them and see how much they suck.)

When I run my space heater at full blast I can put my hand on it and it will not burn me at all. Also I have tested just having the space heater on in my basement all night and it will not raise the temp 1 degree.

However if I keep the space heater off and just have on five of my computers, (which use less wattage and amperage than the space heater.) I can get the basement 4 degrees higher than without any heat source. Each computer takes about 100 watts and 1 amp.

So, I've tested this out with about five different space heaters ranging from, $50-$150 and what I've found is that my computers are more efficient than space heaters. Use less electricity and create more heat.


After telling everyone I know about this, they tell me I'm crazy and that it isn't possible. Please tell me what you think. Tell me about how much heat your system uses.

BTW I live in Michigan and yes heat is a good thing.
 
You know if your computers put out more heat than a space heater, I think your computer is running too hot. Do you have any idea what your CPU temps are at? Use a program like HWmonitor to find out your temps.

My rig does not put out any heat at all. The air coming out of the case does not feel a bit warm at all.

If you are able to put your hand on a space heater without burning, you must be using a piece of junk that doesn't work properly. If I did that with mine, I would be hurting right now.

I would seriously try to find out what your temps are running at.
 
yah my pc is dumping out cold air when you put your hand behind it
my room heater definaly gives off more heat since it is called a heater
 
Depending on the computer, they certainly do give off a fair amount of heat. I've had my room go from around 67*F to around 74*F

I think most of the heat from both my new and old computer comes from the power supply. I should measure the exhaust of the PSU and then the little fake fireplace I have and see how they compare. I also have a Kill-a-watt so I could compare the power draw. I know the fireplace can draw just under 1500w on high. I think my old computer was around 300w.
 
Computers do not give off more heat. Electric heat is close to 100% effecient, eg- 100% of electricity used is converted to heat(barring fans/etc). However, computers are very effecient as well, maybe 30% of the power that goes in turns to heat, the rest is used on the components that run the computer. The only advantage with a computer is the air is constantly circulating air, however a ceramic heater with a fan accomplishes exactly the same thing at a much higher effeciency because it is not powering a microprocessor based system as well as producing heat. It is simple physics, the energy enters the unit, and the only work it is doing is creating heat, therefore it is near 100% effecient in turning electricity into heat, barring the small amount of light the heat causes the heater to produce.

A good way to compare this is the edenpure heater (which is more or less a scam), it is actually ineffecient compared to standard electric heaters because of all the wasted electricity in the quartz heating element, as it creates a lot of infrared light as well as small amounts of heat.
 
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