Bitcoin miners, usually derided for their energy-hogging ways, are becoming reheated Bitcoin miners reconsidered and made useful as a home heating alternative. This groundbreaking strategy captures and reuses the heat produced by Bitcoin mining equipment. It makes heat, potentially saving households on energy bills and making these devices do double duty as heaters. Bitcoin market price is about $85,000. The recent halving event, which decreased mining rewards, has raised the economic incentive to maximize the utility of costly mining equipment.
Bitcoin ASICs, specialized computers built to mine Bitcoin by solving complex blockchain puzzles, use 800 to 1,500 watts of power. In doing so, they waste a tremendous amount of heat as a byproduct. This heat–often thought of as waste heat–can instead be captured and used to provide heating needs.
For instance, a Bitmain S9 miner, when equipped with custom firmware like Braiins, can be configured to redirect its heat output into HVAC ducts, effectively turning the mining hardware into a heating system. A user in Portugal shared that they were able to eliminate their electricity bill entirely, in part by using a Bitcoin miner to heat their home.
This is an exaggeration of bitcoin mining’s actual energy consumption, which worldwide operations consume about 162 terawatt-hours per year. Adding heating functionality with their smart thermostat offering adds tangible value in the real world. The good news is that a conventional 1,000-watt Bitcoin miner can directly displace a conventional 1,000-watt heater. Even crazier, it produces a staggering 3,400 BTUs/hour of heat! This output can even sufficiently heat a typical small apartment for five months or more. Others have even used Bitcoin miners in combination with solar panels to heat an entire 2,600-square-foot home!
Despite the initial investment of around $1,000 for a Bitcoin miner, the potential for long-term savings and Bitcoin earnings makes this approach appealing. Even after the 2024 Bitcoin halving reduces mining rewards, miners will continue to earn at least $10 in Bitcoin every day. By 2025 the Bitcoin miners-as-heaters trend is already well underway and provides real, quantifiable dollar value to consumers.
