Americans are turning to Bitcoin mining to heat their homes
What's the story
As the US braces for winter, traditional heating sources like home heating oil, natural gas, and electric furnaces are becoming more important. However, some Americans are turning to cryptocurrency mining as a source of warmth. The process of crypto mining produces a lot of heat energy that is usually wasted. Now, people are looking at ways to use this energy for residential and commercial heating purposes.
Energy waste
Bitcoin mining industry produces 100 terawatt-hours of heat energy annually
According to digital assets brokerage K33, the Bitcoin mining industry produces an annual 100 terawatt-hours of heat energy. That's enough to keep all of Finland warm! This massive energy waste in such an energy-intensive sector has led some entrepreneurs to explore ways of repurposing this heat for homes, offices, and other places during colder months.
Crypto heaters
Innovative solutions for home heating
One such innovative solution is HeatTrio, a $900 space heater that also works as a Bitcoin mining rig. Some people are using the heat from their own in-home cryptocurrency mining to warm up their entire house. Jill Ford, CEO of Bitford Digital, a sustainable Bitcoin mining company based in Dallas, said she has seen "Bitcoin rigs running quietly in attics," with the heat they generate rerouted through the home's ventilation system to offset heating costs.
Cost-effectiveness
Economic viability of crypto mining for heating
The economic viability of using crypto mining for home heating varies greatly depending on local electricity rates and the speed of a mining machine. However, Ford believes this approach could offset heating costs. "Same price as heating the house, but the perk is that you are mining Bitcoin," she said. A single mining machine, even an older model, can be enough to make this work.
Industrial scale
Crypto mining's potential in larger settings
Andrew Sobko, founder of Argentum AI, is building a marketplace for sharing computing power. He said the idea of using crypto mining or GPU compute to heat homes is clever in theory as almost all energy used by computation is released as heat. However, he believes this concept makes most sense in larger settings like data centers where compute heat shows real promise as an industrial-scale heat recapture method.
Doubts raised
Challenges and skepticism around crypto home heating
Despite the potential benefits, there are skeptics like Derek Mohr, a clinical associate professor at the University of Rochester Simon School of Business. He believes that Bitcoin mining is so specialized now that a home computer or even a network of home computers would have almost zero chance of being helpful in mining a block of Bitcoin. "While Bitcoin mining at home - and in networks of home computers - was a thing that had small success 10 years ago, it no longer is," he said.
Practical use
Real-world applications of Bitcoin heat
The crypto-heated future is already being realized in Challis, Idaho, where Cade Peterson's company Softwarm is repurposing Bitcoin heat to ward off winter. Several businesses are testing Softwarm's rigs to mine and heat. For instance, an industrial concrete company is offsetting its $1,000-a-month bill to heat its 2,500-gallon water tank by heating it with Bitcoin mining.