Computers aren't free, if it costs even $1 to add a computer that generates enough heat (several hundred watts) to be useful as a heater...why not just omit the computer and make an extra dollar of profit, or charge less and undercut competitors that have computers?
Also consider the externalities...making unnecessary computers contributes to e-waste, it increases demand for rare-earth metals that are often mined in extraordinarily bad conditions (slavery and child labor)...
All this for what benefit? Is there a market of people that want to use a computer attached to a space heater? What useful thing is this computer going to do? Maybe it makes sense as a wi-fi repeater or something, but once again as the manufacturer what's easier/cheaper/simpler to design - a computer that generates heat and does some useful software task, or a fat 1500 Watt resistor that converts DC current directly into heat?
All that said, you might be on to something. With some clever advertising and marketing promotionals, I bet you can convert some portion of the space heater market into "premium" users of this contraption, all while make them feel eco-friendly through a greenwashing campaign.
So my answer is, this product doesn't exist for lack of technical creativity - it exists because the advertising industry hasn't sunk to such depths as to market this product yet.
Comments
Computers aren't free, if it costs even $1 to add a computer that generates enough heat (several hundred watts) to be useful as a heater...why not just omit the computer and make an extra dollar of profit, or charge less and undercut competitors that have computers?
Also consider the externalities...making unnecessary computers contributes to e-waste, it increases demand for rare-earth metals that are often mined in extraordinarily bad conditions (slavery and child labor)...
All this for what benefit? Is there a market of people that want to use a computer attached to a space heater? What useful thing is this computer going to do? Maybe it makes sense as a wi-fi repeater or something, but once again as the manufacturer what's easier/cheaper/simpler to design - a computer that generates heat and does some useful software task, or a fat 1500 Watt resistor that converts DC current directly into heat?
All that said, you might be on to something. With some clever advertising and marketing promotionals, I bet you can convert some portion of the space heater market into "premium" users of this contraption, all while make them feel eco-friendly through a greenwashing campaign.
So my answer is, this product doesn't exist for lack of technical creativity - it exists because the advertising industry hasn't sunk to such depths as to market this product yet.