Using renewable energy to mine?

[Lethn]

I was thinking about this for awhile guys and the one thing that is clearly a problem with mining is how power hungry mining rigs are 24/7 and how people who claim to be making a profit are usually nicking electricity from someone else, why isn't there a cheap renewable energy option out there? That would definitely be free and you wouldn't be spending your profits on electricity bills.

Just a thought I had really, sure it'd be difficult for people like me in the UK who would only get wind once in awhile, but what about in other areas where you're getting tons of heat and sunlight? Couldn't you just hook up a mining rig to a solar panel somehow?

[Badonkadonk]

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generating-energy

pretty much everything you need to know

[Lethn]

Very interesting! Thanks!

[Badonkadonk]

setting up your own electricity "farm" isnt cheap tho.
i read somewhere about a guy that wanted to set up solar panels for his own home,
he got the entire neighborhood in on it and saved some on that.

but it will take a few years atleast til u acctualy "save" some money.

[deadwoodluke]

I have some solar in my home, but its not as simple as you think. You need batteries to run at night, and inverters, charge controllers, ect. I might run the new asic of solar, but i cant do the controlling computer.

[Cranky4u]

I have a 1.5kW grid connected solar system at home. When I generate more thazn I can use I sell it to the grid @ AU$0.66kWh and when I draw more than I generate I buy it back at AU$0.25kWh. The system cost me ~AU$3k to have installed and will take about 4 years to break even.

I am currently building an 800Wp wind turbine which I will grid connect as well.

Renewable can be done but it is only cost effective were elec is very expensive. i.e. Australia is ~AU$0.25kWh were USA is ~AU$0.05kWh

[Badonkadonk]

here in norway solar and wind is pretty much useless, but if i had access to wave tech it would be awsome

[Luno]

Norway! Don't you guys run drainage pipes down the mountains to get some free hydro power?

[Cranky4u]

here in norway solar and wind is pretty much useless, but if i had access to wave tech it would be awsome

what about Geothermal...if you have amountain range then it produces heaps of geothermal energy.

Australia is just starting the place geothermal plants along the Great Dividing Range, a mountain range that runs 85% up the full length of the east coast

[Badonkadonk]

Norway! Don't you guys run drainage pipes down the mountains to get some free hydro power?

that would be the big companys yeah, a normal person cant afford that, and even tho we have clean energy (mostly) here its friggin expensive.

[Luno]

4 years ago I was on vacation in Voss and the cottage we stayed in had ghetto hydro power:

A 10 cm black PE sewage pipe came down from a stream on the landowners property into his barn where he ran a centrifugal pump in reverse, i.e. as a turbine. It was connected to an AC motor, which worked as a generator. He had 3-4 KW free electricity for most of the year.

[SgtSpike]

that would be the big companys yeah, a normal person cant afford that, and because we have clean energy (mostly) here its friggin expensive.

Fixed that for you.

[Badonkadonk]

4 years ago I was on vacation in Voss and the cottage we stayed in had ghetto hydro power:

A 10 cm black PE sewage pipe came down from a stream on the landowners property into his barn where he ran a centrifugal pump in reverse, i.e. as a turbine. It was connected to an AC motor, which worked as a generator. He had 3-4 KW free electricity for most of the year.

hahaha norwegian redneck country

[bcpokey]

In reference to the OP, I definitely feel like there should be some community awareness of the consumption side of bitcoin mining. Whether it be investing directly in renewable sources for your energy, or indirectly assisting coalitions or whomever in getting states more active in utility-scale renewable farms.

Something to think about:

Approx 2,460kWh of energy is extracted from 1 TON of Coal.

Even the smallest mining operation is likely to utilize many multiples of that amount (a 500W system roughly every 3 months).
An off-the-cuff calc of the current network, averaging 65,000 5870s @ 180W a piece is ~12kW system, consuming ~8.5 GigaWattHours (8.5mil kWh) / month, or 3,420TONS of coal / 12,500 Barrels of Oil / 17,000 Barrels of liquified natural gas, every month. 

ASICs will be more efficient, but the amount to be deployed will still have a significant power draw, and as bitcoin increases in success, will continue to draw more.


So, just thought htis was a good location to throw out the good spirit of renewables, in helping offset our personal contribution to the detriment of the air

[SgtSpike]

In reference to the OP, I definitely feel like there should be some community awareness of the consumption side of bitcoin mining. Whether it be investing directly in renewable sources for your energy, or indirectly assisting coalitions or whomever in getting states more active in utility-scale renewable farms.

Something to think about:

Approx 2,460kWh of energy is extracted from 1 TON of Coal.

Even the smallest mining operation is likely to utilize many multiples of that amount (a 500W system roughly every 3 months).
An off-the-cuff calc of the current network, averaging 65,000 5870s @ 180W a piece is ~12kW system, consuming ~8.5 GigaWattHours (8.5mil kWh) / month, or 3,420TONS of coal / 12,500 Barrels of Oil / 17,000 Barrels of liquified natural gas, every month. 

ASICs will be more efficient, but the amount to be deployed will still have a significant power draw, and as bitcoin increases in success, will continue to draw more.


So, just thought htis was a good location to throw out the good spirit of renewables, in helping offset our personal contribution to the detriment of the air

Now calculate how much energy and resources are consumed in the production of typical fiat.

[bcpokey]

In reference to the OP, I definitely feel like there should be some community awareness of the consumption side of bitcoin mining. Whether it be investing directly in renewable sources for your energy, or indirectly assisting coalitions or whomever in getting states more active in utility-scale renewable farms.

Something to think about:

Approx 2,460kWh of energy is extracted from 1 TON of Coal.

Even the smallest mining operation is likely to utilize many multiples of that amount (a 500W system roughly every 3 months).
An off-the-cuff calc of the current network, averaging 65,000 5870s @ 180W a piece is ~12kW system, consuming ~8.5 GigaWattHours (8.5mil kWh) / month, or 3,420TONS of coal / 12,500 Barrels of Oil / 17,000 Barrels of liquified natural gas, every month. 

ASICs will be more efficient, but the amount to be deployed will still have a significant power draw, and as bitcoin increases in success, will continue to draw more.


So, just thought htis was a good location to throw out the good spirit of renewables, in helping offset our personal contribution to the detriment of the air

Now calculate how much energy and resources are consumed in the production of typical fiat.

I don't really have any easy access to resources that would provide numbers for such a thing, or I would certainly enjoy doing so. That aside, BTC supporters should be worried about what production of BTC causes and their direct contribution thereof, not the ratio of efficiency between two distinct systems. If I kill 1 person for fun, it's not ok to point at another dude who killed 10 and say "See what he did? So I'm ok."

[SgtSpike]

In reference to the OP, I definitely feel like there should be some community awareness of the consumption side of bitcoin mining. Whether it be investing directly in renewable sources for your energy, or indirectly assisting coalitions or whomever in getting states more active in utility-scale renewable farms.

Something to think about:

Approx 2,460kWh of energy is extracted from 1 TON of Coal.

Even the smallest mining operation is likely to utilize many multiples of that amount (a 500W system roughly every 3 months).
An off-the-cuff calc of the current network, averaging 65,000 5870s @ 180W a piece is ~12kW system, consuming ~8.5 GigaWattHours (8.5mil kWh) / month, or 3,420TONS of coal / 12,500 Barrels of Oil / 17,000 Barrels of liquified natural gas, every month. 

ASICs will be more efficient, but the amount to be deployed will still have a significant power draw, and as bitcoin increases in success, will continue to draw more.


So, just thought htis was a good location to throw out the good spirit of renewables, in helping offset our personal contribution to the detriment of the air

Now calculate how much energy and resources are consumed in the production of typical fiat.

I don't really have any easy access to resources that would provide numbers for such a thing, or I would certainly enjoy doing so. That aside, BTC supporters should be worried about what production of BTC causes and their direct contribution thereof, not the ratio of efficiency between two distinct systems. If I kill 1 person for fun, it's not ok to point at another dude who killed 10 and say "See what he did? So I'm ok."

Yeah, but this is different than killing people.  Currency is necessary.  It is necessary to consume resources in order to produce and maintain currency.  If we can utilize a currency that consumes fewer resources than the other existing solutions, how is that a bad thing?

Certainly, it is not a bad thing to continue working towards reducing that consumption (though personally, I couldn't care less how much electricity is being consumed), but anything better than what we already have should be celebrated, not demeaned.  JMO.

[bcpokey]

In reference to the OP, I definitely feel like there should be some community awareness of the consumption side of bitcoin mining. Whether it be investing directly in renewable sources for your energy, or indirectly assisting coalitions or whomever in getting states more active in utility-scale renewable farms.

Something to think about:

Approx 2,460kWh of energy is extracted from 1 TON of Coal.

Even the smallest mining operation is likely to utilize many multiples of that amount (a 500W system roughly every 3 months).
An off-the-cuff calc of the current network, averaging 65,000 5870s @ 180W a piece is ~12kW system, consuming ~8.5 GigaWattHours (8.5mil kWh) / month, or 3,420TONS of coal / 12,500 Barrels of Oil / 17,000 Barrels of liquified natural gas, every month.  

ASICs will be more efficient, but the amount to be deployed will still have a significant power draw, and as bitcoin increases in success, will continue to draw more.


So, just thought htis was a good location to throw out the good spirit of renewables, in helping offset our personal contribution to the detriment of the air

Now calculate how much energy and resources are consumed in the production of typical fiat.

I don't really have any easy access to resources that would provide numbers for such a thing, or I would certainly enjoy doing so. That aside, BTC supporters should be worried about what production of BTC causes and their direct contribution thereof, not the ratio of efficiency between two distinct systems. If I kill 1 person for fun, it's not ok to point at another dude who killed 10 and say "See what he did? So I'm ok."

Yeah, but this is different than killing people.  Currency is necessary.  It is necessary to consume resources in order to produce and maintain currency.  If we can utilize a currency that consumes fewer resources than the other existing solutions, how is that a bad thing?

Certainly, it is not a bad thing to continue working towards reducing that consumption (though personally, I couldn't care less how much electricity is being consumed), but anything better than what we already have should be celebrated, not demeaned.  JMO.

The point of the analogy is that destructiveness is destructive, regardless of the degree. The difference is of course that one is necessary while the other is not as you mentioned, but it does not negate the main point. If there is a path towards less, or no destructiveness, then one might argue that there is a moral imperative to approach it.

I did not say that BTC is a bad thing, I merely suggested that people be aware, and promote awareness in others of the community, that the system is certainly a consumer of resource, and that it would be beneficial to promote the solutions that are readily available. How is THAT a bad thing? Electricity consumption does not matter, the source of it certainly does.

[DobZombie]

Approx 2,460kWh of energy is extracted from 1 TON of Coal.

so my 7.96GH/s (in my pants) is using 809kg of coal a month.

I'M FEEDING GINA RINEHART'S BIG FAT WALLET (and big fat belly).

I feel dirty now... 

[reyals]

I was thinking about this for awhile guys and the one thing that is clearly a problem with mining is how power hungry mining rigs are 24/7 and how people who claim to be making a profit are usually nicking electricity from someone else, why isn't there a cheap renewable energy option out there? That would definitely be free and you wouldn't be spending your profits on electricity bills.

Just a thought I had really, sure it'd be difficult for people like me in the UK who would only get wind once in awhile, but what about in other areas where you're getting tons of heat and sunlight? Couldn't you just hook up a mining rig to a solar panel somehow?

The two are basically unrelated...
If it's worth while to put in solar/wind then it's worth while to put them in regardless of what you're using the power for.

If it's worth while to mine then it's worth while to mine regardless of what the source of power is.