Solar surplus
Also called: self-consumption, excess solar power, solar self-consumption
Electricity your solar panels produce but you do not use on site. A miner can use it during the day instead of feeding it into the grid.
Solar surplus is the share of the electricity produced by your photovoltaic panels that you are not using at that moment. With self-consumption, this surplus is either fed into the grid and bought back under your contract, or lost if the installation is not connected for resale. Some households and businesses choose to use it to run a miner.
The idea is to control the machine according to production. When the sun is shining and the home is using little power, the miner starts up or ramps up; when production drops, it slows down or stops. Firmware that can adjust consumption, with power profiles, makes this control much easier. Mining thus becomes a flexible load that absorbs excess energy instead of letting it go.
Solar production is variable: clouds, seasons, time of day. A miner powered only by surplus will therefore run only part of the time. Choose a machine whose power matches your actual surplus, measured over several weeks, rather than the peak power of your panels. Small models and machines with adjustable power suit this better than large industrial ASICs. Also have your electrical installation checked before plugging anything in.
Our energy page presents this approach, and we can help you choose a machine suited to the size of your solar installation.