Power & Place
This is the most important page in the whole guide. Mining is really a business of turning cheap electricity into Bitcoin. If your power is expensive, you lose. Full stop.
Think of it like this: A miner is a space heater that happens to earn Bitcoin. It runs full blast, 24 hours a day, hot and loud. Treat it like you are running an extra oven nonstop, because that is roughly the heat and the power it uses.
Your power price (dollars per kWh) is the number that decides profit or loss.
The one number: your price per kWh
Look at your power bill for the price per kilowatt-hour (kWh). In the US that is often 10 to 20 cents. A rough rule of thumb from miners:
- Under ~7 cents/kWh: mining can be profitable.
- Around 10 to 12 cents: borderline, only efficient new machines, thin profit.
- 15 cents or more: most home mining loses money at normal prices.
One modern miner pulls about 3,000 to 3,500 watts. Running nonstop, that is roughly 2,400 kWh a month. At 15 cents that is about $360 a month in electricity, per machine. The calculator (last tile) does this math for you.
Power you need at the wall
- Big miners usually want 240 volts (like a clothes dryer or oven outlet), not a normal 120V wall plug.
- They need their own dedicated circuit and breaker. Do not share with other things.
- If you are not sure, hire a licensed electrician. Overloaded circuits start fires.
Heat and noise are real
- Loud. A running miner is as loud as a vacuum cleaner that never turns off. Not a bedroom or living room machine.
- Hot. It dumps a lot of heat. You need airflow: a garage, shop, or shed with fresh air in and hot air out.
- Dust and humidity kill machines. Keep it clean and dry.
Safety and rules: check that your home wiring can handle it, keep it away from anything flammable, use a smoke alarm nearby, and check local rules and your power company (some have limits or special rates). This is high, constant power draw: respect it.
Remember: find your price per kWh first. Cheap power plus an efficient machine is the whole game. Everything else is details.
Step 3 of 8