. . .
That would beget shorter lifespans for ones electronics. As well, someone in that position would likely have access to a more efficient central heating system.
Most electronics are not thrown out because they fail. They are thrown out because of planned obsolescence driven by propriety software and DRM. E-waste is one of the fastest growing environmental problems today. As for a "more efficient central heating system" what do you have in mind? We are going in circles here.
PoW is as useful as it is necessary. When PoW seems to be useless the question one should ask is, Is it [the PoW schema] necessary? The necessity of PoW, I have found, is directly proportionate to that of its coin. In light of this and the discussion here, it would follow that Bitcoin might not be necessary and that, because of
that, its PoW is widely deemed unnecessary and, thus, useless.