I'm not/wasn't suggesting people running servers in their houses would/could offset data centres. Just as rooftop solar could not replace large power plants. Y

I'm not/wasn't suggesting people running servers in their houses would/could offset data centres. Just as rooftop solar could not replace large power plants. Your comment made me think that understanding how computing power is employed and distributed, and how that information is propagated, sounds a lot like the distribution and routing of electricity. The problems being non-trivial to understand. If we consider what the average person uses in terms of computational power, bandwidth and storage, and how many people an individual shares content with, like they would on Facebook, using email, et c., then a server in the home with appropriate software could easily cover that requirement. If we consider the requirements of publishing content to a mass audience, then individuals running home servers would not cover this (at least not yet). Just as everyone with rooftop solar could not power the requirements of factories.