Wow. That’s a nice situation. What part of the world do you live in? How cold does it get there in the winter?
With this heating from “servers”, let’s be a little careful…
Let’s remember at least about “negative and positive” ions. All electrical devices - including computers - create positive ions (except those used to generate negative ones). They have a negative effect on our body. And this is obvious, it has been tested and it is neither fantasy nor a conspiracy theory.
The amount of dust in the house will also increase if we introduce this air from the garage or basement.
We also have to take into account one more thing.
Maybe these days electronic components are made of better elements, which are placed on better PCBs (printed circuit boards) - although I doubt it - once production - but also staying in a cluster of many working, assembled and heated by the functioning of PCBs, was unhealth.
On the other hand, when it is scary to eat a vegetable bought from the supermarket,
such air will not kill anyone 
Central Washington, and usually down to about 0 F
Those “ions” don’t escape the servers, they’re entirely internal to the components.
Dust CAN be an issue, if you don’t filter the intake air (I have to anyway, as I keep my place at positive pressure to keep the smoke out from general area forest fires - British Columbia and Washington both having BIG fires a few years ago was a VERY BAD thing for outside smoke for weeks).
PCBs don’t get hot enough to generate chemicals, unless you BURN one.
I bet you have some good electricity prices there, too. I looked at moving out there years ago when I considered getting seriously into bitcoin mining.
Tied more-or-less for 2’nd best in the country, in the specific county I’m in - but rental costs are somewhat cheaper than the #1 electric rate county in the US (Chelan) so at my farm size it evens out.
Chelan also has an anti-cryptocoin specific electric rate, so though it’s the “lowest in the country” for most folks cryptocoin miners end up paying WAY over the national average - or they try to hide and end up getting criminal charges against them when they get caught,
The question is where you set the boundary…
Less now than before - but there is a small emission.
There are those who, when building a house (after geological examination of the foundation of the construction site), make a “radon trap”.
Although few people know that exposure to radon in buildings corresponds to almost 1/3 of the total dose of ionizing radiation and about 1/2 of the dose from natural sources and, according to the World Health Organization, radon is the main carcinogen, next to tobacco smoke.
Similarly, not everyone understands why it is better to live in a wooden house than in one made of reinforced concrete.
These are minor nuances, but still.
Although the components of the vectors are decisive (what good is it that you take care of 16 factors if you overlook 4 others that will cause greater damage to health).
So in the final analysis, there is no point in worrying about the details - we live in a world where we cannot predict what will harm us… It is enough to show up, for example, in the waiting room of a dentist’s office, where in the morning a careless employee broke a used light bulb with mercury vapors. He did not admit to it - or maybe he did admit it - but the manager “ignored the issue” … and several hundred people were “hit” by mercury for a month, which they even transferred to their cars and homes…
So PCBs are a “small matter” compared to how in today’s world we can end our lives decently - even without our intentional participation.
I recommend it for good night, before bed… Sometimes you can get on… just a bus in Brazil… Or be an unaware wife whose man may want to make an original, interesting ring…
Goiânia accident - Wikipedia
Although in reality, the most important thing is genes… Some are lucky with them - others are not… and it does not depend on us anyway. You do not choose your family…
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You are descending in fear mongering.
In engineering vocabulary, there are no adjectives. So, your base statement is true; however, irrelevant.
Unless you provide data for the emission levels and toxicity levels / ranges for it, it really doesn’t make any sense. You can die from drinking water if you hit over-/under-hydration levels, so is drinking water not safe?
A good example is your radon story. Unless you live in a non-ventilated basement or work in the mine, the levels are well below any toxicity thresholds. Also, if concerned about it, there are radon meters out there to put that threat to sleep.
Given that “whole house ventilation to remove radon buildups” have been MANDATORY in the USA for well over a decade (probably 2), and I believe even LONGER in most of Europe, that’s a bad strawman argument in much of the world - and before “superinsulated” homes started showing up (that didn’t allow circulation with the outside air by design), it wasn’t an issue at all (which leaves out most of the rest of the world).
And citing that “World Health Organization” as a source is not wise, they’ve been shown to be WRONG a lot of times - not just mistaken, OUTRIGHT WRONG.
Have you seen the “material data sheet” someone made up for Dihydrogen Monoxide?
If you believe that sheet, DHMO has the potential to be some very dangerous stuff.
It’s also a scientific name for Water, but everything stated on that MDS was literally true.
Yes, I do know what dihydroxy monoxide is. Wasn’t it covered in 7th grade chemistry or so?
I would not dismiss WHO as a source of information out right. Everyone could be outright wrong at some point. Maybe the best example is the current state of physics with respect to splitting multiverses (a full circle back to “how many angels can dance on the head of a pin”).
With respect to radon, I think that this article is the source - Radon. There are no citations for quoted data, there is no reasonable breakdown for sub-categories. And of course, the “Key facts” are most likely true, but again irrelevant. Kind of a waste of time going through that article.
By the way, here is the CDC article about mortality rates - FastStats - Deaths and Mortality. My understanding is that lung cancer is the second most common cancer. Based on that WHO article, radon causes ~5% of lung cancer rates. They don’t specify what percentage of that is radon and smoking (most deadly combination), so let’s give it 50%. What it boils down to is:
600,000 (cancer) * 0.5 (lung cancer) * 0.05 (radon triggered) * 0.5 (non-smokers) = 7,500 death related to radon triggered cancer
We can round it up to 10k deaths per year.
Sorry for this off topic…
Gentlemen, you are right.
I hope you do not perceive me as an “old geezer” who is afraid to breathe (without belittling “old geezer” whom I respect and I would not call them that).
I just want to show how small components are a huge component of life. Sometimes, if it does not make our life more difficult - they can be eliminated provided - 1) that we want to, 2) that we are aware of them at all, 3) that we understand the relationships, what we will gain and what we will lose.
I do not agree that everything can be measured and subjected to statistics as such.
First of all, not all data is analyzed.
If it is analyzed - the data obtained is not always obtained and analyzed correctly before being entered.
And most importantly… Our body does not always behave predictably (depending on e.g. the carcinogenic factor, the body and the environment).
For one person, harmful factor A + environment B + genotype C = “only” disease, inconvenience, loss of comfort; while for another, the same A + B + C = deadly disease.
In an era when science is slowly coming closer to admitting the truth of those who claim that there is a “soul”, when we have already lived through the times when the possibility of the existence of black holes was ridiculed (as science fiction) and we have tested the use of relativistic theory to correct the time error in GPS satellites (where it was once wondered whether it would ever be possible to use it for useful work) - I am inclined to insist that we still do not know a lot, we have not explored everything - and a bit of “cognitive humility” is due.
It’s like with analysis - was an accident caused by a drunk driver caused by the driver’s decision to get behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol, or did the following also play a role:
- a quarrel with his wife an hour before the accident,
- reduced amount of sleep to 5 hours in the last 3 days,
- an advertisement for women’s swimsuits placed on the street, passed by the driver 10 seconds earlier,
I suspect that statistics are only made to measure the correlation of accidents and alcohol consumption…
And who among you will say (on 100%) that none of the other factors played a role in causing the possibility of an accident? Who will say that they were irrelevant?
So, going further - who’s to say that if we are on the verge of a serious illness that we don’t know about (for simplicity, let’s use a linear scale - our coefficient is 99.99%), the ventilation that is turned on to “wash” the HDD PCB heated to 50 degrees C will not cause a jump to 100% and the onset of illness?
Sometimes it reminds me a bit of the experience with the mennisk and the glass of water.
I have close contact in my private life with the medical industry (mainly research and implementation of drugs) - our body is still an intricate puzzle.
Let’s know the risks, even the 0.0000001%.
The decisions are ours.
Let’s just know them and if we make conscious choices, then … ok.
And that’s all I mean.
The decision is up to … each of you individually …
I just politely pointed out the possibility of a tiny negative factor when choosing to support home heating in this form. For the sake of those who may not have looked at this factor from this perspective.
That’s it.
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I guess, this sums it up:
This one may help in the process:
Jacek,
you can always have a laugh. If that’s how you assess it. Why not…
I consider you a person with great knowledge, high personal culture and always helpful in helping to find solutions in case of problems, often with a high level of complexity, so maybe you need something beyond my “soft social speculations”
Let’s approach the subject more scientifically, on your terms (without adjectives).
Let’s consider at least one of the harmful ingredients used in the production of PCBs.
Let it be, for example, a compound still present in PCBs - Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE) - a substance that is supposed to intendent to impede the flammability of the board and the components placed on it.
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers are classified as so-called endocrine disruptors (ED), i.e. compounds that disrupt the synthesis, secretion and transport of hormones in the human body.
Well, let’s reach for Polish scientific thought, from our own backyard.
The ladies (including one nominated for a postdoctoral degree in engineering) from the Department of Analytical Chemistry at the Faculty of Chemistry of the Gdańsk University of Technology conducted research on why this undesirable substance occurs in closed rooms.
Awareness of the harmful effects of brominated flame retardants on living organisms is growing, mainly due to the link between their presence in the human environment and health disorders. The ladies promote the need to conduct research aimed at controlling the content of these chemical compounds in the environment. In the article, our compatriots review the literature (which does exist… however) on the course of the analytical procedure leading to the determination of PBDE in samples of plastics, electronic devices, and also in samples of household dust (and where this substance comes from).
Smielowska, M., & Zabiegala, B. (2016). Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the immediate human environment. Part I. Determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) in polymer materials and dust.
There are of course - even from just “googling” - many more interesting articles about the harmfulness of electronic components during their typical operation (of course not to mention their recycling or burning!).
I’ll end the thread here, since it arouses, to put it mildly, “mixed feelings”…
I really like people. I always wish them the best 
All the more reason I don’t want to scare anyone… or upset anyone.
My farm has been a heater for my office for best part of 6 months now:
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I am really not sure why we are having this conversation. You are changing the story from post to post trying to see which one sticks.
As I said in the original reply, the fact that something is true is not the same as being relevant. To specify how relevant it is, a better breakdown is needed. The article (Smielowska, at al.) talks in general about PBDE. No one disputes the facts that are covered. However, how relevant it is for the context of this discussion. As was pointed to you about radon, in developed countries dealing with it started long time ago. With respect to PBDE, a quick look at PubMed results provides a better context - polybrominated diphenyl ethers - Search Results - PubMed. The very first article is not the newest, yet it percolated to the top - “PBDE in the environment: a wake-up call for concerted action in India”. I guess you know why it is in India - main country that recycles PCBs by mainly burning them in open pits. Have you seen such a pit somewhere in your neighborhood recently?
Take a look at this article - Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the environmental systems: a review - PMC - section “Routes of exposure to PBDEs”: “In contrast, contact through inhalation is insignificant for both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic hazards.”
So, again you failed to prove anything, provide reliable data, just started fearmongering about a new thing. Just let it go my friend.
So, I am signing off from this exchange as it leads nowhere.
I think I forgot to add that perspective is also important when checking sources. Here is an example:
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- Effective plot size: 1.1PB
- Electricity price per kWh : 0.40 USD (converted from local currency)
- Electricity consumption of the farm : 380 w/h
- Profitable: Break Even on opex
- Still farming
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Holy cow. That’s some expensive electricity!
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(1) farm size: 3 PiB effective
(2) price kWh: 0.29$
(3) complete farm consumption: 920 W/h
(4) profitable: yes
(5) farm still running
(6) bonus: yearly 2300$ - 2400$ for electricity, but I save 1900$ - 2200$ for heating
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Indeed, expensive country in general and price is up about 80% since the Russian Ukranian war. Will be coming down about 10% next year though apparently so fingers crossed 
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