Update: Mining crypto to heat my 1 bedroom flat
-
approx $6.84USD
Huh. So definitely not worth it then. Just buy a space heater instead. When I did it a few years ago I got $500 out of it, but it cost me a $350 video card which died soon after.
could have bought yourself a £500 gpu after and mined even more then
-
That's not ignoring though. You typed more words than them!
I was feeling indulgent.
-
So a couple months ago i made this post
I was downvoted pretty heavily by lemmy standards but there were a decent amount of constructive comments so i deduce that there is some interest in this topic, so thought i would update.
I've gotten through the coldest months of the year here in the UK and i have been mining less and less as a result now that spring is springing.
This isn't a professional set up at all, I have an AMD 3900x processor and a Radeon 6800X GPU. I decided to mine Raven on the GPU (seems to be a dead coin tbh) and Monero on the processor. I also have an old quad core intel media server that runs Folding@home in the same room, so generating heat, but not crypto income. As far as actual crypto earnings are concerned it didn't really yield a whole much; i am the proud owner of 546RVN (current market rate about $6.74USDT) and 0.033 XMR (approx $6.84USDT value). so not even going to bother selling it, will just hold it and hope it pops one day.
The real return though is the reduction in electricity usage. The flat was kept not quite as warm as previous years but still warm enough to be comfortable so long as you wear socks and occasionally put on a jumper on the really cold days. With this experiment i was for the most part only heating a single room. As a result my power usage plummeted for the normally heaviest months.
2024 peaked at around 1,100kWh in Jan normally heating my flat with its in built resistive element electric heaters (no gas here)
2025 peaked at 800kWh in Jan
Costs are generally averaged out over the course of the year here in the UK and my energy supplier has told me they're reducing my Direct Debit by -£30.48 a month, i'll assume this holds for the rest of the year.
So with that in mind my net gain was (£30.48 * 12) + (13.58USDT converted to GBP at current rate of £0.77... £10.48)
£376.24
Admittedly there are other variables i'm not really controlling for, the cost of power peaked in 2023ish and have been reducing since for instance.
i had fun though, will try again next year
You're making just enough to cover the cost of the new GPU when they break due to being used as a heat source.
-
That is so awesome! I’ve been thinking of the exact same thing for years. I already have a cheap source of heat, so there’s no need for a project like this. However, if I did live in a house with electric heating, mining crypto is exactly what I would do.
I would probably make a dedicated server room, blow the warm air to other rooms through pipes etc. it’s a bit of a gamble though, because mining hardware costs something, and I don’t know if the coins would really be worth it. As long as it costs less than traditional electric heating, it should be worth it.
As long as it costs less than traditional electric heating, it should be fine.
It would not. All work puts out an equal amount of heat for the amount of power drawn. A 1500 Watt electric heater will put out 1500 Watts of heat, and a 1500 Watt computer puts out 1500 Watts of heat, but only if it's putting in enough computing work.
That computing work might be worth something if you're lucky, which is where the actual savings are. OP ended up saving much more money from heating less than from earning any crypto.
-
I was downvoted pretty heavily by lemmy standards
You shouldn't really mind too much this echochamber, tbh.
People are, understandably, so tired of both blockchain, that posts on the topic will gather a lot of downvotes by the mere mention of it, even the few ones that are insightful and interesting, as opposed to the usuall techbro shill.
-
So a couple months ago i made this post
I was downvoted pretty heavily by lemmy standards but there were a decent amount of constructive comments so i deduce that there is some interest in this topic, so thought i would update.
I've gotten through the coldest months of the year here in the UK and i have been mining less and less as a result now that spring is springing.
This isn't a professional set up at all, I have an AMD 3900x processor and a Radeon 6800X GPU. I decided to mine Raven on the GPU (seems to be a dead coin tbh) and Monero on the processor. I also have an old quad core intel media server that runs Folding@home in the same room, so generating heat, but not crypto income. As far as actual crypto earnings are concerned it didn't really yield a whole much; i am the proud owner of 546RVN (current market rate about $6.74USDT) and 0.033 XMR (approx $6.84USDT value). so not even going to bother selling it, will just hold it and hope it pops one day.
The real return though is the reduction in electricity usage. The flat was kept not quite as warm as previous years but still warm enough to be comfortable so long as you wear socks and occasionally put on a jumper on the really cold days. With this experiment i was for the most part only heating a single room. As a result my power usage plummeted for the normally heaviest months.
2024 peaked at around 1,100kWh in Jan normally heating my flat with its in built resistive element electric heaters (no gas here)
2025 peaked at 800kWh in Jan
Costs are generally averaged out over the course of the year here in the UK and my energy supplier has told me they're reducing my Direct Debit by -£30.48 a month, i'll assume this holds for the rest of the year.
So with that in mind my net gain was (£30.48 * 12) + (13.58USDT converted to GBP at current rate of £0.77... £10.48)
£376.24
Admittedly there are other variables i'm not really controlling for, the cost of power peaked in 2023ish and have been reducing since for instance.
i had fun though, will try again next year
i was for the most part only heating a single room
Have you made sure that your other rooms are not getting moldy? Cold air can't carry as much moisture so your walls, furniture, etc. might be getting damper than they should be.
-
was fun tho. and if those coins do pop in future then i stand to make a decent amount of money.
I've spend more on the lottery for worse odds
distraction/diversion are little pieces of heaven that make life worthwhile in this painful and difficult world if you're not born into wealth or lucky circumstances; keep doing it no matter what other people say if it works for you and doesn't cause harm or loss to others.
i got downvoted heavily for creating my own home router based on linux; but it works well (most of the time) and it has given me a project to focus on when i've needed the distraction myself many times.
-
Then why are you here?
For the same reason you typed this post.
-
I was downvoted pretty heavily by lemmy standards
You shouldn't really mind too much this echochamber, tbh.
Truth be told, most folks aren't interested in having a conversation with strangers on the internet -- but "use" em as a scapegoat for their personal/irl issues. With that said, the logic behind "downvote-happy" users is simply, "Have this downvote because I'm feeling like shiz and I must downvote you so I can feel a false sense of superiority/intelligence over you and feel less like shiz.".
-
So a couple months ago i made this post
I was downvoted pretty heavily by lemmy standards but there were a decent amount of constructive comments so i deduce that there is some interest in this topic, so thought i would update.
I've gotten through the coldest months of the year here in the UK and i have been mining less and less as a result now that spring is springing.
This isn't a professional set up at all, I have an AMD 3900x processor and a Radeon 6800X GPU. I decided to mine Raven on the GPU (seems to be a dead coin tbh) and Monero on the processor. I also have an old quad core intel media server that runs Folding@home in the same room, so generating heat, but not crypto income. As far as actual crypto earnings are concerned it didn't really yield a whole much; i am the proud owner of 546RVN (current market rate about $6.74USDT) and 0.033 XMR (approx $6.84USDT value). so not even going to bother selling it, will just hold it and hope it pops one day.
The real return though is the reduction in electricity usage. The flat was kept not quite as warm as previous years but still warm enough to be comfortable so long as you wear socks and occasionally put on a jumper on the really cold days. With this experiment i was for the most part only heating a single room. As a result my power usage plummeted for the normally heaviest months.
2024 peaked at around 1,100kWh in Jan normally heating my flat with its in built resistive element electric heaters (no gas here)
2025 peaked at 800kWh in Jan
Costs are generally averaged out over the course of the year here in the UK and my energy supplier has told me they're reducing my Direct Debit by -£30.48 a month, i'll assume this holds for the rest of the year.
So with that in mind my net gain was (£30.48 * 12) + (13.58USDT converted to GBP at current rate of £0.77... £10.48)
£376.24
Admittedly there are other variables i'm not really controlling for, the cost of power peaked in 2023ish and have been reducing since for instance.
i had fun though, will try again next year
Fun little project. Sure it is probably impractical, but you decided to try out an idea you had.
Honestly that's exactly what I come to the internet for, to see little personal projects. Who cares if they work or not.
I am sure you were at least entertained through the cold, and that is something a heater would not of done.
-
i was for the most part only heating a single room
Have you made sure that your other rooms are not getting moldy? Cold air can't carry as much moisture so your walls, furniture, etc. might be getting damper than they should be.
airing those rooms would solve that problem. With no heat to lose, you can keep those windows open all day if you like
-
So a couple months ago i made this post
I was downvoted pretty heavily by lemmy standards but there were a decent amount of constructive comments so i deduce that there is some interest in this topic, so thought i would update.
I've gotten through the coldest months of the year here in the UK and i have been mining less and less as a result now that spring is springing.
This isn't a professional set up at all, I have an AMD 3900x processor and a Radeon 6800X GPU. I decided to mine Raven on the GPU (seems to be a dead coin tbh) and Monero on the processor. I also have an old quad core intel media server that runs Folding@home in the same room, so generating heat, but not crypto income. As far as actual crypto earnings are concerned it didn't really yield a whole much; i am the proud owner of 546RVN (current market rate about $6.74USDT) and 0.033 XMR (approx $6.84USDT value). so not even going to bother selling it, will just hold it and hope it pops one day.
The real return though is the reduction in electricity usage. The flat was kept not quite as warm as previous years but still warm enough to be comfortable so long as you wear socks and occasionally put on a jumper on the really cold days. With this experiment i was for the most part only heating a single room. As a result my power usage plummeted for the normally heaviest months.
2024 peaked at around 1,100kWh in Jan normally heating my flat with its in built resistive element electric heaters (no gas here)
2025 peaked at 800kWh in Jan
Costs are generally averaged out over the course of the year here in the UK and my energy supplier has told me they're reducing my Direct Debit by -£30.48 a month, i'll assume this holds for the rest of the year.
So with that in mind my net gain was (£30.48 * 12) + (13.58USDT converted to GBP at current rate of £0.77... £10.48)
£376.24
Admittedly there are other variables i'm not really controlling for, the cost of power peaked in 2023ish and have been reducing since for instance.
i had fun though, will try again next year
Is folding at home still useful when we now have Alphafold 2 ?
-
So a couple months ago i made this post
I was downvoted pretty heavily by lemmy standards but there were a decent amount of constructive comments so i deduce that there is some interest in this topic, so thought i would update.
I've gotten through the coldest months of the year here in the UK and i have been mining less and less as a result now that spring is springing.
This isn't a professional set up at all, I have an AMD 3900x processor and a Radeon 6800X GPU. I decided to mine Raven on the GPU (seems to be a dead coin tbh) and Monero on the processor. I also have an old quad core intel media server that runs Folding@home in the same room, so generating heat, but not crypto income. As far as actual crypto earnings are concerned it didn't really yield a whole much; i am the proud owner of 546RVN (current market rate about $6.74USDT) and 0.033 XMR (approx $6.84USDT value). so not even going to bother selling it, will just hold it and hope it pops one day.
The real return though is the reduction in electricity usage. The flat was kept not quite as warm as previous years but still warm enough to be comfortable so long as you wear socks and occasionally put on a jumper on the really cold days. With this experiment i was for the most part only heating a single room. As a result my power usage plummeted for the normally heaviest months.
2024 peaked at around 1,100kWh in Jan normally heating my flat with its in built resistive element electric heaters (no gas here)
2025 peaked at 800kWh in Jan
Costs are generally averaged out over the course of the year here in the UK and my energy supplier has told me they're reducing my Direct Debit by -£30.48 a month, i'll assume this holds for the rest of the year.
So with that in mind my net gain was (£30.48 * 12) + (13.58USDT converted to GBP at current rate of £0.77... £10.48)
£376.24
Admittedly there are other variables i'm not really controlling for, the cost of power peaked in 2023ish and have been reducing since for instance.
i had fun though, will try again next year
Need a chart for temps as well.
-
Not possible where i am. i live in an apartment above a shop in a busy UK town. Attaching anything to the outside of my property requires expensive permission from the freeholder.
Plus i want to move in the next year or so, so economically it wouldn't make a lot of sense for me to do it
Window heat pumps are coming, they're just barely starting to hit the market. It would be a great solution for future rentals.
-
Need a chart for temps as well.
not something i recorded this time. may do it next year.
i observed usually around 83 to 93 degrees celcius on the GPU. although i did see it drop to 53 degrees a few times whilst still mining. not sure what that was about as its not way that was a true figure.
i did override the gpu fan once or twice manually and set it to full flat out and got it down into the 70s. i found the interface for that to be kinda complicated to deal with though so i didnt do it routinely
wasnt watching the CPU
-
Is folding at home still useful when we now have Alphafold 2 ?
never heard of it tbh
-
distraction/diversion are little pieces of heaven that make life worthwhile in this painful and difficult world if you're not born into wealth or lucky circumstances; keep doing it no matter what other people say if it works for you and doesn't cause harm or loss to others.
i got downvoted heavily for creating my own home router based on linux; but it works well (most of the time) and it has given me a project to focus on when i've needed the distraction myself many times.
haha i also have my own homemade linux router. debian based on an orangepi r1
thinking about replacing it with openwrt on some more application specific hardware soon though
-
I was folding@home on my media server as part of this experiment.
I did try and do this a couple years ago with folding@home on both machines but didn't make it all the way through December, although i did have different hardware at that time.
I did briefly look at doing it again this year but setting it up to work with an AMD gpu seemed to be unsupported. the mining software seems easier to script with too
That's kind of what I was thinking.
I used to run Folding@Home, as well as others, as a screensaver. It's been a while, but I think you had some control of how hard to work the computer. As someone who regularly works with 30 year old computers that run 24/7, it seems weird to kill a GPU by running it,but if it runs cooler maybe it will last longer? Although that defeats the purpose kind of.
Now you need to use the money you saved and the $15 in crypto to buy two identical computers, then run one flat out and the other at around 50% and see how long they last. Report back every couple of years.
Excuse me while I look at extreme uptime posts.
-
was fun tho. and if those coins do pop in future then i stand to make a decent amount of money.
I've spend more on the lottery for worse odds
Honestly, thank you for posting the details and results. Regardless of anyone's opinions, it's a fascinating thought experiment.
-
So a couple months ago i made this post
I was downvoted pretty heavily by lemmy standards but there were a decent amount of constructive comments so i deduce that there is some interest in this topic, so thought i would update.
I've gotten through the coldest months of the year here in the UK and i have been mining less and less as a result now that spring is springing.
This isn't a professional set up at all, I have an AMD 3900x processor and a Radeon 6800X GPU. I decided to mine Raven on the GPU (seems to be a dead coin tbh) and Monero on the processor. I also have an old quad core intel media server that runs Folding@home in the same room, so generating heat, but not crypto income. As far as actual crypto earnings are concerned it didn't really yield a whole much; i am the proud owner of 546RVN (current market rate about $6.74USDT) and 0.033 XMR (approx $6.84USDT value). so not even going to bother selling it, will just hold it and hope it pops one day.
The real return though is the reduction in electricity usage. The flat was kept not quite as warm as previous years but still warm enough to be comfortable so long as you wear socks and occasionally put on a jumper on the really cold days. With this experiment i was for the most part only heating a single room. As a result my power usage plummeted for the normally heaviest months.
2024 peaked at around 1,100kWh in Jan normally heating my flat with its in built resistive element electric heaters (no gas here)
2025 peaked at 800kWh in Jan
Costs are generally averaged out over the course of the year here in the UK and my energy supplier has told me they're reducing my Direct Debit by -£30.48 a month, i'll assume this holds for the rest of the year.
So with that in mind my net gain was (£30.48 * 12) + (13.58USDT converted to GBP at current rate of £0.77... £10.48)
£376.24
Admittedly there are other variables i'm not really controlling for, the cost of power peaked in 2023ish and have been reducing since for instance.
i had fun though, will try again next year
For the monero mining, did you solo or pool mine? Also p2pool+xmrig ?
