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Title: Some Americans Are Trying to Heat Their Homes With Bitcoin Mining

Link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/11/16/2339...

An anonymous reader shared this report from CNBC: [T]he computing power of
crypto mining generates a lot of heat, most which just ends up vented into
the air. According to digital assets brokerage, K33, the bitcoin mining
industry generates about 100 TWh of heat annually - enough to heat all of
Finland.This energy waste within a very energy-intense industry is leading
entrepreneurs to look for ways to repurpose the heat for homes, offices, or
other locations, especially in colder weather months. During a frigid snap
earlier this year, The New York Times reviewed HeatTrio, a $900 space heater
that also doubles as a bitcoin mining rig. Others use the heat from their own
in-home cryptocurrency mining to spread warmth throughout their house. "I've
seen bitcoin rigs running quietly in attics, with the heat they generate
rerouted through the home's ventilation system to offset heating costs. It's
a clever use of what would otherwise be wasted energy," said Jill Ford, CEO
of Bitford Digital, a sustainable bitcoin mining company based in Dallas...
"Same price as heating the house, but the perk is that you are mining
bitcoin," Ford said... The crypto-heated future may be unfolding in the town
of Challis, Idaho, where Cade Peterson's company, Softwarm, is repurposing
bitcoin heat to ward off the winter. Several shops and businesses in town are
experimenting with Softwarm's rigs to mine and heat. At TC Car, Truck and RV
Wash, Peterson says, the owner was spending $25 a day to heat his wash bays
to melt snow and warm up the water. "Traditional heaters would consume energy
with no returns. They installed bitcoin miners and it produces more money in
bitcoin than it costs to run," Peterson said. Meanwhile, an industrial
concrete company is offsetting its $1,000 a month bill to heat its 2,500-
gallon water tank by heating it with bitcoin. Peterson has heated his own
home for two-and-a-half years using bitcoin mining equipment and believes
that heat will power almost everything in the future. "You will go to Home
Depot in a few years and buy a water heater with a data port on it and your
water will be heated with bitcoin," Peterson said. Derek Mohr, clinical
associate professor at the University of Rochester Simon School of Business,
remains skeptical. Bitcoin mining is so specialized now that a home computer,
or even network of home computers, would have almost zero chance of being
helpful in mining a block of bitcoin, according to Mohr, with mining farms
use of specialized chips that are created to mine bitcoin much faster than a
home computer... "The bitcoin heat devices I have seen appear to be simple
space heaters that use your own electricity to heat the room..." CNBC also
spoke to Andrew Sobko, founder of Argentum AI (which is building a
marketplace for sharing computing power), who says the idea makes the most
sense in larger settings. "We're working with partners who are already
redirecting compute heat into building heating systems and even agricultural
greenhouse warming. That's where the economics and environmental benefits
make real sense. Instead of trying to move the heat physically, you move the
compute closer to where that heat provides value."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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