benhawk

$250 per kWp for PV with ~1000 kWh/year over 25 years means $0.01/kWh. Renewables can be cheap but they fluctuate a lot. You’ll need batteries for reliability, but that just jacks up the cost per kWh.

Thinking BTC mining with renewable energy could help decentralize it more. So many wild claims floating around here about PV mining... I’m gonna break it down with some basic calculations.

Geothermal cooling is feasible, but really, adding ASIC miners to that concept isn’t needed. Plus, there probably isn’t a huge cooling need near geothermal plants.

It’s actually simple. Just trust the laws of physics. Instead of trying all these wild cooling setups, improve the cooling for ASICs and you can save energy by reducing waste heat.

Let’s say we set up a thermoelectric generator between the ASIC chip and heatsink. To even make it work, we’d need a decent temp difference, but honestly, it might just raise power consumption more than it’s worth.

Lol, just try to beat physics and thermodynamics. Steam engines won’t work either; gradients are too low. In summer, miners can struggle with heat management already, so adding another gradient for cooling is risky.

Let’s not beat this dead horse again. Short answer: not happening. Even a perfect engine can’t beat Carnot efficiency. Gas ACs work with high temperatures. Using ASIC waste heat is a whole different story.

That's comparing apples to oranges. There's a huge difference between an ASIC's waste heat and heat at high temps. I really doubt it’d work, since low-temp waste heat hasn’t produced much in terms of power. Stirling…

Ever thought about immersion setups? ImmergeAxe could keep your gear safe and dust-free in the fluid. Just gotta clean the radiator now and then.

Not sure if OP is even paying attention. Everyone knows bitcoin mining is super competitive these days.

If you want to mine without paying, look into business models where heating is covered. Like water damage restoration services that charge for the power they use. But honestly, you're still on the hook for initial costs.