solar cells, battery wall, winter heating

[soy39]

I heated my mobile home with a few old Bitmain miners this last winter using very little propane on the coldest days.  My S5 seems to have a value comparable to a heat pump, not paying for itself but cheaper than heating with electric.  Electric isn't that cheap here in Georgia but I'm guessing half of what I'd be paying on Long Island.

I have property and the thought of solar is usually in the back of my mind.  I had asked my insurance agent about buying a used EV but he threw shade on the idea.  Used EVs and rural distances don't mix well.  But more interesting is that I don't think the grid is ready for many EVs charging every night when the boss gets home from his commute, neighborhood transformers catching fire and what not.  And although most of Georgia under Georgia Power has net metering for solar, private electric companies in some parts are unregulated in that regard and not bound by the Georgia Power.  So, I wondered about a solar wall and solar cells unconnected to the grid for 24/7 mining.

Has anyone used a solar wall and cells to off grid power a miner 24/7?  If so what miner(s), what battery wall, and how many solar cells at what wattage?  I could picture putting the cells all on an old, no longer road worthy, trailer to avoid a boost in property tax.  And, if I ever buy an EV I could expand. 

Thanks.

soy39

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[soy39]

I see Tesla Powerwalls are to be sold in Home Depot and they start at $5,500 for 13.5kWh.  My S5 with non-standard switching supplies and therefore not super efficient, with an extra fan, ran at 624 watts at 337.5M and 645 watts at 350M.  So, figuring 624 watts, that's just under 15kWh/day.  I see it takes 6kWh to charge a Prius.  To power the S5 a rough calculation using 120 watt solar panels would take 16 panels.  And nexttag shows that a package of six 120 wall solar panels would cost $1545.  So, at a cost of $257.50/120watt panel, that's $4120.

Propane heating and cooking is very close to 100 gallons/year and was $1.25/gallon in 2016 (didn't run miners summer/winter of 16/17) and $2.10/gallon in 2017.  I'm a true believer in long underwear and live alone.  So, if I bought a Tesla battery wall it would take 30 years of heating with my miners to pay off the battery alone never mind the solar cells (if figuring heat because in very cold weather I needed to fire up a couple of C4's as well).  But that really isn't realistic as I could run the miner summer nights to mid-morning without exposure to excessive heat and the minimal bitcoin it earns over time, and with bitcoin value luck, would pay that down.  Still, a Powerwall, solar cells, a charging station and a Prius could kill my gasoline bill.  But, car insurance on an EV is higher.  And, we are going to run out of petroleum sooner or later.

So, not organized at all.  Still worth thinking about though.

[ngngoclyly]

Large mines in the world, they often use industrial electricity. They usually work in large quantities so high power consumption, batteries and solar power will not be enough. 

[soy39]

Yes, I see that now.  And old miners as heat won't work well for long.

But, I gotta say electric is a getting more expensive.  A few years ago the rates went up and caught me unawares while mining.  At the same time an increase of line charges of $5 was added.  This year another $5 increase in line charges.  On top of that, something called VOGTLE IDC, which is about financing the building of a nuclear reactor around Savannah, is $0.006/kWh.  South Carolina, which was having a similar cost overrun problem with the construction of a nuclear reactor killed the reactor construction.  They should kill it here too.  Anyway, those increased line charges aren't going to go away if one starts powering one's home part time with solar.  And that kind of thing is going to keep happening.

Looking at what that .6¢/kWh will add to my typical monthly driving if I were driving a Chevy Bolt getting 17.6 kWh/62.137 miles.  But after I put the chickens to bed...

Okay, so if I drive 500 mi/month (retired), at 17.6 kwh/100km, the .006 VOGTLE will only add 84¢/month and now that mileage might cost about $15 in electric otherwise.  That 500 miles is 1½ tanks of gas.  That $15.84 addition to my electric bill would be a lot better than what I pay for filling the tank 1½ times.  Doesn't help my mining costs any.