Thinking of going OFF Grid with Solar power for mining? Anyone tried this.

[ShanghaiTimes]

Off grid set up like this is easy to set up, and to scale up.
1KW Solar Panel Complete Kit: 6*180W Poly Solar Module System for RV Home Power
£792.00

Given that an Antminer S7 runs at about 1300w a set up that is say 2kw (2000w) should do it. Ok, so initial outlay is high. But a solar setup doesn't wear out. The batteries need changing about every three years though. In fact, you can get solar systems that will power a house, off grid.
But I don't see or hear anyone drawing power from Solar, or Solar + Wind.
It's not impossible, and the initial outlay would be a one off cost.

http://www.chalmers.com.au/wdimages/solarsetup.jpg
Robert

[1715491341]

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[1715491341]

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[1715491341]

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[1715491341]

1715491341

[BitcoinBarrel]

Many people have tried it in the past, but why not just invest in Bitcoins with the money? Everyone has found out sooner or later that mining Bitcoins is barely Break-even at best. Good luck!

[philipma1957]

Off grid set up like this is easy to set up, and to scale up.
1KW Solar Panel Complete Kit: 6*180W Poly Solar Module System for RV Home Power
£792.00

Given that an Antminer S7 runs at about 1300w a set up that is say 2kw (2000w) should do it. Ok, so initial outlay is high. But a solar setup doesn't wear out. The batteries need changing about every three years though. In fact, you can get solar systems that will power a house, off grid.
But I don't see or hear anyone drawing power from Solar, or Solar + Wind.
It's not impossible, and the initial outlay would be a one off cost.


Robert

read this thread

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1369207.0


0 batteries all mixed with grid.

no  new battery is cheap enough it dies too fast for its price.

with mixed grid you completely avoid the battery issue.

but mixed grid only works in areas that the power company works with you.  New Jersey  , Massachusetts  are good ...   Wisconsin is bad.

The solar setup I am supplying the asic miners too was $$$ to set up more then 100k.
The reason we did this is the home owner solar array  owner is in the solar power business. We are in NJ a good solar power state.

If you buy 3x  1000 watt panels get your charger and inverter and batteries for 3k you would be lucky  and 3000 watts of panels in the best states are about  6 hours of full sun on average or ¼ or 750 watts net on an all battery system with 3kwatts of panels

So to do 1 s-7 on an all battery system  you need about 6kwatt of panels translation $6000 usd  and the batteries  will be dead in 5 years so add 1000 more so 7000 usd for 10 years of 1.5kwatts     what does 10 years of 1.5 kwatts cost form a 10 cent a kwatt power company

36 kwatts a day =   3.60 usd a day or 110 usd a month or 1320 usd a year in

5 years    6600    you spent 6000 so after 5 years you are 600 usd ahead. of the power companies fee to you
10 years 13200   you spent 7000 so after 10 years you are 6200 ahead.

now heres the problem I used 10 cent a kwatt  and a s-7 no longer turns profit at 12 cents a kwatt  this took about 7 or 8 months.

So while solar may turn a profit with batteries you are talking 6 years out or more.

[cloverme]

Many people have tried it in the past, but why not just invest in Bitcoins with the money? Everyone has found out sooner or later that mining Bitcoins is barely Break-even at best. Good luck!

It would be awesome if mining could be decentralized again to the point where everyone could participate. Because power is so inexpensive in China, the majority of the mining is taking place there. It's possible with solar, the playing field might level out again. The price of the solar gear though might not make it worth it, but not sure.  Would love to see something like this take shape!

[jak1]

Many people have tried it in the past, but why not just invest in Bitcoins with the money? Everyone has found out sooner or later that mining Bitcoins is barely Break-even at best. Good luck!

It would be awesome if mining could be decentralized again to the point where everyone could participate. Because power is so inexpensive in China, the majority of the mining is taking place there. It's possible with solar, the playing field might level out again. The price of the solar gear though might not make it worth it, but not sure.  Would love to see something like this take shape!

The setup I'm thinking to make is with my raspberry pi utilizing my existing nas server, which I already keep running 24/7 as my media server. The rasp uses very little electricity and I'm even playing with the option of having it run of solar power. I'm also planning to use a mining pool as it appears virtually impossible to generate any bits by yourself unless you invest heavily on hardware.

[ShanghaiTimes]

I like the idea there of using Rasberry PI, or something similar. But I do think Solar is an interesting idea.
Ok, the cost of setting up a half way decent power station can add up, but if you are using it for other things as well as mining, it will spread the cost.
There is another interesting facet to this power rating thing. A Power Supply Unit may well be rated at say 1300w, but there is no way that it draws that much power continuously. Most miners as I understand it get hot, dissipating the power being used, but you would need a wall sized heat sink, and AC Cooling to stop a full 1300 watts from frying your whole room. That's a 1 bar radiator .... So has anyone actually put a smart meter on their rig and watched the throughput. I'd be really interested in the results. You can get those things that plug into the household circuit now that tell you how much power you are using. If you have a Smart Meter in the UK, it's brilliant. Power and Cost. Right there on a digital display.
Anyway, Solar may not be the answer in the UK ... but solar + wind may be. A basic setup like that is about £350. Scale it up from there. Batteries - big ones, deep cycle type to hold over the nights and no-wind/no-light days...
Of course, Just buy Bitcoins, but where's the fun in that :-) If I was interested in storing up ... wealth ... I'd buy gold and stash it under the bed.  But I'm not interested really in Bitcoins as a source of income, and projecting out a ROI over 10 years would be nuts. It's all going to change/go away/stop long before then. And I'd still have my solar setup. It's like putting solar power on your house, and you just work off that. Ok, nothing going into the grid probably, but it's still pretty cheap power because you are running your house on it as well.

[philipma1957]

I like the idea there of using Rasberry PI, or something similar. But I do think Solar is an interesting idea.
Ok, the cost of setting up a half way decent power station can add up, but if you are using it for other things as well as mining, it will spread the cost.
There is another interesting facet to this power rating thing. A Power Supply Unit may well be rated at say 1300w, but there is no way that it draws that much power continuously. Most miners as I understand it get hot, dissipating the power being used, but you would need a wall sized heat sink, and AC Cooling to stop a full 1300 watts from frying your whole room. That's a 1 bar radiator .... So has anyone actually put a smart meter on their rig and watched the throughput. I'd be really interested in the results. You can get those things that plug into the household circuit now that tell you how much power you are using. If you have a Smart Meter in the UK, it's brilliant. Power and Cost. Right there on a digital display.
Anyway, Solar may not be the answer in the UK ... but solar + wind may be. A basic setup like that is about £350. Scale it up from there. Batteries - big ones, deep cycle type to hold over the nights and no-wind/no-light days...
Of course, Just buy Bitcoins, but where's the fun in that :-) If I was interested in storing up ... wealth ... I'd buy gold and stash it under the bed.  But I'm not interested really in Bitcoins as a source of income, and projecting out a ROI over 10 years would be nuts. It's all going to change/go away/stop long before then. And I'd still have my solar setup. It's like putting solar power on your house, and you just work off that. Ok, nothing going into the grid probably, but it's still pretty cheap power because you are running your house on it as well.

the s-7 draws 1350 watts at the wall 24/7/365

  it is hot and loud

[ShanghaiTimes]

.....

the s-7 draws 1350 watts at the wall 24/7/365

  it is hot and loud

Thanks for that. Now that's information that is useful. ... sounds like my girlfriend. Hot and Loud :-)

[jacobmayes94]

Solar panels are ill advised, they are currently one of the most expensive energy sources which have a very long ROI time of like 20 or so years if they were producing maximum power. A solar wind combo is ideal, in the UK however you can sometimes get panels installed for free or with government subsidy, or you can pay a monthly cost, its worth working out if this will help, but this only would reduce costs in the day time. A better option in the UK is to go with a provider with a cheap day per kWh rate of say 11 pence, and a cheap night rate of like 4.5 pence for 7 hours at night (economy 7) this can average the price at just under 10 pence per kWh and is very profitable with scrypt, but the current gen bitcoin hardware you would still have a long ROI time. Factor in the halving and it just got more difficult.

Solar panels are a green option, if you were not too fussed about the cost but wanted to do it from a green perspective.

I would suggest buying coins with the money for solar panels to be honest. I found a much better return on investment buying coins.