Is Solar Bitcoin Mining Worth It?
If you live in the Northeast, the answer is maybe.
Yesterday, the solar panels on my roof generated about two times more electricity than I consumed. I could send the extra power back to the grid but wondered what the rate of return would be if I used it for bitcoin mining.
It’s been sunny lately, which is definitely not always the case. After factoring in New York’s latitude, weather, and seasons the panels make about 1,600 kWh of “extra” electricity per year¹ That’s 1,060 hours of mining annually.
At $0.156/hr, a 1500 watt T9 Antminer would make $166/year² (26 percent rate of return over twenty years).³ Not bad, but what if I sold the extra electricity to my utility instead of running a bitcoin miner?
My utility pays about $0.10 per kWh, so that’s $160 per year — without the mining hardware setup, maintenance, and investment.
Is solar bitcoin mining worth it? It doesn’t seem like it, except maybe for the entertainment value.
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² nicehash.com
³ 26% IRR based on $750 cost of T9 Antminer, 20,000 hour life span
