Some Americans Are Trying to Heat Their Homes With Bitcoin Mining

An anonymous reader shared this report from CNBC:[T]he computing power of crypto mining generates a lot ofheat, most which just ends up vented into the air. According todigital assets brokerage, K33, the bitcoin mining industry generates about 100 TWh of heat annually - enough to heat all ofFinland.This energy waste within a very energy-intenseindustry is leading entrepreneurs to look for ways to repurposethe heat for homes, offices, or other locations, especially in colderweather months. During a frigid snap earlier this year, TheNew York Times reviewed HeatTrio, a $900 space heater that alsodoubles as a bitcoin mining rig. Others use the heat from their ownin-home cryptocurrency mining to spread warmth throughout theirhouse. "I've seen bitcoin rigs running quietly in attics, withthe heat they generate rerouted through the home's ventilationsystem to offset heating costs. It's a clever use of what wouldotherwise be wasted energy," said Jill Ford, CEO of BitfordDigital, a sustainable bitcoin mining company based in Dallas..."Same price as heating the house, but the perk is that you aremining bitcoin," Ford said... The crypto-heated future may be unfolding in the town of Challis,Idaho, where Cade Peterson's company, Softwarm, is repurposingbitcoin heat to ward off the winter. Several shops and businesses intown are experimenting with Softwarm's rigs to mine and heat. At TCCar, Truck and RV Wash, Peterson says, the owner was spending $25 aday to heat his wash bays to melt snow and warm up the water."Traditional heaters would consume energy with no returns. Theyinstalled bitcoin miners and it produces more money in bitcoin thanit costs to run," Peterson said. Meanwhile, an industrial concretecompany is offsetting its $1,000 a month bill to heat its2,500-gallon water tank by heating it with bitcoin. Peterson hasheated his own home for two-and-a-half years using bitcoin miningequipment and believes that heat will power almost everything in thefuture. "You will go to Home Depot in a few years and buy a waterheater with a data port on it and your water will be heated withbitcoin," Peterson said. Derek Mohr, clinical associate professor at the University ofRochester Simon School of Business, remains skeptical.Bitcoin mining is so specialized now that a home computer, or evennetwork of home computers, would have almost zero chance of beinghelpful in mining a block of bitcoin, according to Mohr, with miningfarms use of specialized chips that are created to mine bitcoin muchfaster than a home computer... "The bitcoin heat devices I haveseen appear to be simple space heaters that use your own electricityto heat the room..." CNBC also spoke to Andrew Sobko, founder of Argentum AI (which isbuilding a marketplace for sharing computing power), who says theidea makes the most sense in larger settings. "We're workingwith partners who are already redirecting compute heat into buildingheating systems and even agricultural greenhouse warming. That'swhere the economics and environmental benefits make real sense.Instead of trying to move the heat physically, you move the computecloser to where that heat provides value."

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