I heat my house with my rigs! + Big crypto event on 21 January in Auxerre!

Can you heat your house with mining rigs, and what does the electricity really cost? In this video (in French), we take you on a tour of our three-level house, heated largely by our graphics card rigs: where the machines are placed, the temperatures achieved, the cryptocurrencies we choose to produce heat and the calculation of the real cost of electricity. We also announced CryptOx'R, a crypto event held in Auxerre on 21 January 2023.

Video from late 2022: the figures below date from that time. See "What about today?" at the end of the article.

Rigs spread over three levels

Our house has a basement, a ground floor and an upper floor. Out of about ten rigs, we sold three big ones and kept seven. As for the cards, we quickly got rid of the GTX 1660 Supers and stopped using RTX 3070 Tis: what remains is mostly RTX 3070s and RTX 3060 Tis.

• In the basement, over 60 m²: three rigs, including one with 8 × RTX 3070 that has been running for more than a year and a half without a single problem, a 10-card rig (mostly RTX 3070s and a few RTX 3060 Tis) and a 6-card rig mixing Radeon RX 6800, RTX 3070 and other models. It is 27 °C next to the machines.
• On the ground floor: a rig with 6 × RTX 3070, compact, discreet and quiet, which does not stop you from watching TV. Next to the rig it is 21.4 °C, even though all the radiators on the ground floor are switched off.
• Upstairs: a rig with 6 × RTX 3060 Ti ASUS TUF Gaming, with their little LEDs. We have even switched off the front fans for the winter, as the cards do not run too hot. Two metres from the rig, the room is at 23.7 °C.

Our strategy upstairs: during the day, this single rig keeps the floor warm, because it quickly heats small rooms and the heat spreads into the landing and the neighbouring bedrooms. In the little one's bedroom, we simply switch on a radiator two hours before bedtime; elsewhere, the radiators are hardly used any more, except sometimes to dry clothes.

Which cryptocurrency should you mine for heat?

For heating, we actually look for cryptocurrencies that make the cards draw more power, and therefore give off more heat, such as Ravencoin or Flux. On an RTX 3060 Ti, the difference is clear:

• Kaspa or Radiant: about 75 to 80 W, very efficient, but little heat;
• Flux: about 140 to 150 W.

Depending on the coin being mined, the same card can therefore draw anywhere from 80 to 150 W, and obviously does not give off the same amount of heat.

The real cost of electricity

For ASICs, profitability calculations are often based on electricity at 10 cents per kWh, and many people wonder how to get that price. We believe that for a small private user paying 16 to 17 cents per kWh, without solar panels or another solution, mining is not even worth it. On top of that, a rise of about 15% was announced for early 2023; in our view, it could have been worse. Two levers bring the cost down:

• The EDF Tempo contract, with its blue, white and red days. On red days, around twenty a year, electricity is very expensive. By playing with this contract, we manage an average of 10 to 14 cents per kWh, and 10 or 11 cents on the cheapest days.
• A business structure (micro-enterprise, self-employed status or company): we recommend mining through a business so that all or part of the electricity can be booked as an expense, which in our view lowers its cost by about 30%. Something to check with your accountant depending on your status.

Combining blue and white days with this business expense treatment, we reach a final cost of less than 9 cents per kWh.

The outcome: less gas, electricity "virtually" at 6–7 cents

Our house is heated with gas. Comparing with the previous year's consumption, we estimate that the heat from the rigs cut the heating bill by at least 30%, or even 30 to 50%. Applied to the cost of electricity, this saving represents a further reduction of around thirty per cent: while electricity already cost less than 10 cents per kWh, it is as if it now cost, virtually, only 6 to 7 cents.

In other words, when the heat from the machines replaces part of the heating, the calculation is completely different from that of a private user mining at 16–17 cents per kWh without recovering anything.

CryptOx'R, the crypto event in Auxerre on 21 January 2023

We opened the video with an announcement: on Saturday 21 January 2023, our friends at Mètis Mining were organising CryptOx'R, a crypto event in Auxerre. Its organiser, Max, had brought together many players from the French crypto scene, including several YouTubers such as Monsieur TK, as well as quite a few sponsors, and we planned to be there. The idea: an affordable, friendly, no-fuss event, with a standard ticket at €30, a far cry from the €100 to €200 a day charged by some events.

What about today?

Since Ethereum moved to proof of stake in September 2022, earnings from graphics card mining have collapsed, and the arrival of Kaspa ASICs in 2023 made Kaspa GPU mining marginal. The principle of the video still holds: a miner gives back the electricity it consumes as heat, and that heat can replace part of your heating. Today, this is mostly done with compact, quiet ASICs designed for the home.

To mine and heat at home, read our article on the Canaan Avalon Mini 3 and browse our home miners. To lower your electricity costs, see also our video on our 6 kW photovoltaic installation, or contact us for advice.