The use of fossil fuels still dominates, especially in the area of heating living space. Thanks to innovative technologies, new climate-friendly alternatives are emerging here – for example, heating with sea thermal systems or the use of waste heat from computers. Both approaches use existing heat sources to heat buildings.<\/p>
Lake thermal energy is one of the youngest forms of energy generation and makes use of the lakes as huge heat stores. In summer, the lakes absorb the sun's warmth and give it off slowly. Even when it is below zero, the lake water retains a certain temperature in the depths – ideal for extracting heat from the water in the lower layers and using it as a natural source of heat. The water is then returned to the lake in a cooler condition. This is harmless to the ecosystem and to a certain extent even counteracts climatic warming. With this technology, the largest lake thermal project in Switzerland is successfully launched in Lucerne.<\/p>
The Paris startup \u201cQarnot\u201d takes a different approach and relies on the waste heat from computers. Instead of laboriously cooling computers in large server rooms, they are built into radiators. In this way, data flows in the radiators instead of water. The decentralized computing power is sold to large companies, the digital radiators themselves to private households. After the initial investment, they no longer have any heating costs. The more heat is desired, the more data power is generated. The data is encrypted and is not saved, so it is not possible to trace which data is flowing. The same thing works with hot water boilers – an entire residential complex in Bordeaux has already been equipped with this technology. Due to the increasing amounts of data around the world, the future potential seems enormous.<\/p>