Developer builds open-source widget to show how much heat a PC pumps into a room

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A developer created HeatLens, a free desktop widget, after finding no existing tool that translated PC power draw into room heat metrics. The app converts live wattage readings into BTU per hour, session heat totals, and rough exhaust airflow estimates, using the simple formula BTU/hr ≈ watts × 3.412. It pulls sensor data from LibreHardwareMonitor, nvidia-smi, and Linux RAPL, with labeled fallbacks when direct power sensors are unavailable. Built with Python and Tkinter, HeatLens is available as a portable executable for Windows and Linux under an MIT license on GitHub. The developer notes it is not a substitute for a plug-in wall meter and advises treating its readings as contextual estimates rather than precise measurements.

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