Get paid to host a mini DC in your backyard. From NIMBY to YIMBY.

per grok:

"The post highlights a real Nvidia partnership with startup Span and homebuilder PulteGroup to deploy XFRA mini data centers-compact outdoor units resembling AC units containing 16 Blackwell GPUs, AMD EPYC CPUs, and 3TB RAM-on new residential homes for distributed AI compute.

Span installs them faster and cheaper than traditional data centers by tapping unused household electrical capacity; homeowners get smart panels, battery backups, and lower effective utility/internet costs via flat fees or usage compensation, though the claimed $1,000 monthly payout appears as an optimistic estimate rather than confirmed terms."

🚨BREAKING: Nvidia will pay you $1,000 a month to host a mini AI data center at your house.

It looks like a regular AC unit sitting in your yard. Nobody walking past would know what is inside.

Inside sits 16 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs and Dell servers running at full capacity.

A… pic.twitter.com/NMl6eagFat

— Future Stacked (@FutureStacked) May 29, 2026

If it worked, you might convince me to put a couple out on the farm. Don't want one at the house

Do they also pay your electric bill? Seems like that $1K a month is going to used up pretty quick.

As long as I get the $1k and I just rent them space and NOTHING else, and there are no radiation or noise or other impacts, looks like a good idea.

AustinAg2K said:

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Do they also pay your electric bill? Seems like that $1K a month is going to used up pretty quick.

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Read the links.

AustinAg2K said:

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Do they also pay your electric bill? Seems like that $1K a month is going to used up pretty quick.

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If they would agree to pay my entire electric bill, I would do it. That would save me $2500 per year.

It's a scam, a grift, a fugazi, total Bull *****


and BTW there are software solutions with patents in multiple countries that allow for distributed datacenter operation.


The hardware play is just the latest pump and dump created by grifters.....

Can I siphon off some of that capacity for video games?

Here in the Hill Country the battery backup could be worth it, even if it's just break even.

found this:

Quote:

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So what does this mean for people who sign up to live in homes with attached data center nodes? SPAN would take on responsibility for paying the electricity and Internet bills for each household while offering residents either a flat utility feethe company floated the example of a $150 fee or possibly no fee at all, according to Realtor.com. The company is also still working out the specifics of household Internet service plans.

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https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/05/the-newest-ai-boom-pitch-host-a-mini-data-center-at-your-home/

"The whole unit bolts onto your home and you get paid for the power and Wi-Fi you supply."

Unless the reimbursement is for ALL of your electricity and wifi costs, I'm not sure how they would know what portion of the bill from your power and internet companies are relevant.

Dungeon Crawler Carl said:

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It's a scam, a grift, a fugazi, total Bull *****


and BTW there are software solutions with patents in multiple countries that allow for distributed datacenter operation.


The hardware play is just the latest pump and dump created by grifters.....

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Scam how?

Issues to consider (not necessarily deal breakers):

-- Company viability (are they government subsidized and will go under after the subsides run out)?
-- Where on your house/yard is this thing going?
-- Disposal costs/requirements?
-- Maintenance and repair agreements
-- What happens if it stops working, company doesn't respond; does your power and internet go out?

There's probably more questions, but that's just off the top of my head. Honestly, the $1k spiff should be one of the last considerations.

AlexNguyen said:

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"The whole unit bolts onto your home and you get paid for the power and Wi-Fi you supply."

Unless the reimbursement is for ALL of your electricity and wifi costs, I'm not sure how they would know what portion of the bill from your power and internet companies are relevant.

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Smart panel and battery backup. During power failures the AI off loads it work and the battery is for the home only. AD used is non-peak. Battery covers the difference for the AI.

Even if the whole thing were a wash, having a smart panel and whole home battery backup sounds pretty nice.

Fascinating idea if it's not total b.s. and doesn't degrade the grid. I do think this is the future. At some point, each house is going to be its own node on the grid if/when the tech gets scalable.

Kind of put our toes in the water with solar in that regard but it's just been too expensive with large footprint to date.

Dungeon Crawler Carl said:

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It's a scam, a grift, a fugazi, total Bull *****


and BTW there are software solutions with patents in multiple countries that allow for distributed datacenter operation.


The hardware play is just the latest pump and dump created by grifters.....

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Reminds me of companies that pay people to put windmills on their land.

No Spin Ag said:

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Dungeon Crawler Carl said:

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It's a scam, a grift, a fugazi, total Bull *****


and BTW there are software solutions with patents in multiple countries that allow for distributed datacenter operation.


The hardware play is just the latest pump and dump created by grifters.....

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Reminds me of companies that pay people to put windmills on their land.

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Explain how agreeing to and getting paid to put something on your property is a scam? People in the country get paid to put cell towers on their land. Is that a scam too? I'm not getting this "it's a scam" claim.

Some of y'all just are really that gullible......SMH

to start; in your head or on a white board walk through the actual logistics of manufacturing, distribution, installation, customer service, maintenance, legal documentation, payments, to get this up and running.

i.e. how this "legitimate" business will make enough profit to pay out "around $1000" a month for life to you and the other 8,000 suckers that buy into this.


then consider: why would a business model that requires "mini-datacenter" unit uptime to be optimized to create profit open itself up to: 8,000 sites spread on properties over an entire city; HOA Karens; kids messing with them; dogs pissing on them; real estate legal issues; pests, animals and insects getting inside the box; etc, etc, etc, etc......

Logos Stick said:

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No Spin Ag said:

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Dungeon Crawler Carl said:

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It's a scam, a grift, a fugazi, total Bull *****


and BTW there are software solutions with patents in multiple countries that allow for distributed datacenter operation.


The hardware play is just the latest pump and dump created by grifters.....

---

Reminds me of companies that pay people to put windmills on their land.

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Explain how agreeing to and getting paid to put something on your property is a scam? People in the country get paid to put cell towers on their land. Is that a scam too? I'm not getting this "it's a scam" claim.

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Sorry, I didn't mean it as a scam, just company paying people to put their product on their property.

My bad.

Dungeon Crawler Carl said:

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Some of y'all just are really that gullible......SMH

to start; in your head or on a white board walk through the actual logistics of manufacturing, distribution, installation, customer service, maintenance, legal documentation, payments, to get this up and running.

i.e. how this "legitimate" business will make enough profit to pay out "around $1000" a month for life to you and the other 8,000 suckers that buy into this.


then consider: why would a business model that requires "mini-datacenter" unit uptime to be optimized to create profit open itself up to: 8,000 sites spread on properties over an entire city; HOA Karens; kids messing with them; dogs pissing on them; real estate legal issues; pests, animals and insects getting inside the box; etc, etc, etc, etc......

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LOL

I don't care if the company makes a dime. Not my problem. Will they install it and pay me to run it, including my electricity and internet. I also don't care if the dog pees on it or if its physically secured. That's their problem.

You've still not shown me how I'm being scammed. I don't think you've thought this through.

Dungeon Crawler Carl said:

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Some of y'all just are really that gullible......SMH

to start; in your head or on a white board walk through the actual logistics of manufacturing, distribution, installation, customer service, maintenance, legal documentation, payments, to get this up and running.

i.e. how this "legitimate" business will make enough profit to pay out "around $1000" a month for life to you and the other 8,000 suckers that buy into this.


then consider: why would a business model that requires "mini-datacenter" unit uptime to be optimized to create profit open itself up to: 8,000 sites spread on properties over an entire city; HOA Karens; kids messing with them; dogs pissing on them; real estate legal issues; pests, animals and insects getting inside the box; etc, etc, etc, etc......

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What a weirdly angry take. Nvidia is underwriting the cost so they don't need to be profitable, likely because they view it as a potentially better/more cost effective solution than buying a bunch of land and building more data centers. I'd probably need to hear how loud it is before deciding but would certainly understand why people would sign up for it. Also seems like something commercial building owners would jump at if they have unused adjacent space.

cover my mortgage or more and let's discuss, anything less than that...Fuhgeddaboudit

Aggie95 said:

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cover my mortgage or more and let's discuss, anything less than that...Fuhgeddaboudit

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If it could cover your mortgage, they'd probably just get into the real estate business.

If they want to cover your electric and internet bill and it turns out there are not hidden gotchas and it's not hard to cut it off, then why in the world would you not at least consider it?

That's hundreds of dollars a month off your monthly budget for most people. WGAS if it's bad financial decision on their part. If you can get a year of spend cut out of your budget before it goes under and assuming you can easily just cut back over to a normal electric/internet plan, then it's a no brainer.

J. Walter Weatherman said:

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Dungeon Crawler Carl said:

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Some of y'all just are really that gullible......SMH

to start; in your head or on a white board walk through the actual logistics of manufacturing, distribution, installation, customer service, maintenance, legal documentation, payments, to get this up and running.

i.e. how this "legitimate" business will make enough profit to pay out "around $1000" a month for life to you and the other 8,000 suckers that buy into this.


then consider: why would a business model that requires "mini-datacenter" unit uptime to be optimized to create profit open itself up to: 8,000 sites spread on properties over an entire city; HOA Karens; kids messing with them; dogs pissing on them; real estate legal issues; pests, animals and insects getting inside the box; etc, etc, etc, etc......

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What a weirdly angry take. Nvidia is underwriting the cost so they don't need to be profitable, likely because they view it as a potentially better/more cost effective solution than buying a bunch of land and building more data centers. I'd probably need to hear how loud it is before deciding but would certainly understand why people would sign up for it. Also seems like something commercial building owners would jump at if they have unused adjacent space.

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Large, centralized DCs are hitting major pushback now. If they can truly distribute the load like this, it's a win for everyone.

How will this affect the pron servers I'm hosting?

Imagine the tax assessment appraisals will take these into account and treat them as a commercial business.

Logos Stick said:

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LOL

I don't care if the company makes a dime. Not my problem. Will they install it and pay me to run it, including my electricity and internet. I also don't care if the dog pees on it or if its physically secured. That's their problem.

You've still not shown me how I'm being scammed. I don't think you've thought this through.

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Talk about not thinking it through....... How are you going to get monthly checks from a company that doesn't make a dime genius?


You do realize that street hustlers and criminals have access to the internet too, right?

The scam is offering something for nothing on a technology no one really understands other than what they've read on the web.

You desperately want to believe that you don't have to do a thing other than offer up a small piece of real estate and you'll get $1000 a month free and clear.


They got their hooks in your mouth now it's about setting the hook and keeping you on the line.

Logos Stick said:

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Dungeon Crawler Carl said:

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Some of y'all just are really that gullible......SMH

to start; in your head or on a white board walk through the actual logistics of manufacturing, distribution, installation, customer service, maintenance, legal documentation, payments, to get this up and running.

i.e. how this "legitimate" business will make enough profit to pay out "around $1000" a month for life to you and the other 8,000 suckers that buy into this.


then consider: why would a business model that requires "mini-datacenter" unit uptime to be optimized to create profit open itself up to: 8,000 sites spread on properties over an entire city; HOA Karens; kids messing with them; dogs pissing on them; real estate legal issues; pests, animals and insects getting inside the box; etc, etc, etc, etc......

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LOL

I don't care if the company makes a dime. Not my problem. Will they install it and pay me to run it, including my electricity and internet. I also don't care if the dog pees on it or if its physically secured. That's their problem.

You've still not shown me how I'm being scammed. I don't think you've thought this through.

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They do not claim to "pay" your electrical bill or internet bill. They claim to provide you a "discounted" electrical rate and internet rate. Yeah, just like those timeshares gave me a "discounted" rate on a condo.

Dungeon Crawler Carl said:

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Logos Stick said:

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LOL

I don't care if the company makes a dime. Not my problem. Will they install it and pay me to run it, including my electricity and internet. I also don't care if the dog pees on it or if its physically secured. That's their problem.

You've still not shown me how I'm being scammed. I don't think you've thought this through.

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Talk about not thinking it through....... How are you going to get monthly checks from a company that doesn't make a dime genius?


You do realize that street hustlers and criminals have access to the internet too, right?

The scam is offering something for nothing on a technology no one really understands other than what they've read on the web.

You desperately want to believe that you don't have to do a thing other than offer up a small piece of real estate and you'll get $1000 a month free and clear.


They got their hooks in your mouth now it's about setting the hook and keeping you on the line.

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NVIDIA is involved, Einstein.

Can you show me the company's income statements and balance sheet and projected earnings analysis from doing this, Einstein?



Thanks in advance.

Just what I need. A home tied down with a long term contract that runs with the land.

When I move and have to sell it in several years, the universe of potential buyers is not going to shrink at all. Everyone will be glad to have this burden.

Principal Uncertainty said:

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Logos Stick said:

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Dungeon Crawler Carl said:

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Some of y'all just are really that gullible......SMH

to start; in your head or on a white board walk through the actual logistics of manufacturing, distribution, installation, customer service, maintenance, legal documentation, payments, to get this up and running.

i.e. how this "legitimate" business will make enough profit to pay out "around $1000" a month for life to you and the other 8,000 suckers that buy into this.


then consider: why would a business model that requires "mini-datacenter" unit uptime to be optimized to create profit open itself up to: 8,000 sites spread on properties over an entire city; HOA Karens; kids messing with them; dogs pissing on them; real estate legal issues; pests, animals and insects getting inside the box; etc, etc, etc, etc......

---

LOL

I don't care if the company makes a dime. Not my problem. Will they install it and pay me to run it, including my electricity and internet. I also don't care if the dog pees on it or if its physically secured. That's their problem.

You've still not shown me how I'm being scammed. I don't think you've thought this through.

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They do not claim to "pay" your electrical bill or internet bill. They claim to provide you a "discounted" electrical rate and internet rate. Yeah, just like those timeshares gave me a "discounted" rate on a condo.

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The article I posted literally says they do what I claimed. They would pay your electrical and internet bills and you might not pay anything at all. That's LITERALLY what it says! You see the words: "or possibly no fee at all".

Even if I pay them $150/mo, that means they pay my internet completely and 50% of my electrical bill.

Quote:

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The homeowner experience

So what does this mean for people who sign up to live in homes with attached data center nodes? SPAN would take on responsibility for paying the electricity and Internet bills for each household while offering residents either a flat utility feethe company floated the example of a $150 feeor possibly no fee at all, according to Realtor.com. The company is also still working out the specifics of household Internet service plans.

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From a friend in AI:

Lol I heard about it, definitely not rushing to sign up for it. When you were putting crypto mining rigs in your house you at least owned the output and could calculate the profit margins.

I think the problem here is that the electrical grid is already strained and this is going to strain it in unique ways (if wildly successful) similar to what crypto did years ago leading to stuff like rolling outages in South America. On top of that, the liability of these expensive GPUs is probably not something I'd want to have in my yard. I wouldn't want to have to prove that someone else stole it from the yard if they did lol.

With that being said, I think it's a clever workaround to an existing problem. I could see future iterations working better, but would like to instead see investments in y'know, cheaper AI models first as an answer to the data centers being overworked problem (that won't happen either though, there's objectively less money for the AI companies in making things cheaper for consumers)

rafjaf said:

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Imagine the tax assessment appraisals will take these into account and treat them as a commercial business.

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I imagine not.