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The global energy usage from crypto was in the ballpark of 120-240 TWh/year, but a couple figures repeated the specific 150 TWh/year figure, so I'll use that.

The global energy usage from crypto was in the ballpark of 120-240 TWh/year, but a couple figures repeated the specific 150 TWh/year figure, so I'll use that. The US's annual gasoline consumption is 135 bn gallons (2021 figure). At around 20 mpg (random estimate because I have to pick something), that works out to 2.7 trillion miles. At 30 kWh/100mi (figure from google), that works out 800 TWh if every gas vehicle in the US was suddenly switched for an electric one, or about 20% of the US's annual electricty generation of 4222.5 TWh (2018 figure). Also, that's about 5x the global crypto energy usage, vs just America's cars. [Obvious disclaimers: some of those estimates are arbitrary and not perfect, but they're in the right ballpark, and we obviously wouldn't switch to electric cars overnight] Crypto was bad because it didn't actually accomplish anything with that power usage, but it was a pretty small footnote on the grand scheme of things.

tigeroil 4y ago
The main thing your comment highlights for me is how much of a push we need for more sustainable methods of transportation in general. There's always going to be people who will need to drive, but there's a hell of a lot of people who could be perfectly adequately served by strong public transportation.
- phpisthebest 4y ago
  >>but there's a hell of a lot of people who could be perfectly adequately served by strong public transportation. Never going to happen for 80-90% of the US. It is neither economically feasible, culturally feasible, or practically feasible for most people in the US. Work places are too spread out, homes are not located near workplaces, and there is no desire from anyone (my self included) to increase density. I want less density not more, "walkable" cities only work if people actually want to live in a walkable city. Many many many dont
megaman821 4y ago
If it is only 20% more generation, that seems pretty feasible. The widespread usage of air conditioners caused a greater increase in electricity usage than that.
- phpisthebest 4y ago
  As more and more people switch to Electric Heat (heat pumps i.e AC run backwards) off of NatGas more and more energy companies are pleading with people to turn down their heat in the winter and up in the summer as the grid can not handle it For the first time I can remember, my power company was sending out Texts here in the midwest during that last Arctic blast telling people to use less electricity because the grid was over taxed. Our National Energy grid is very very fragile.
  - megaman821 4y ago
    That is such a misrepresentation. It has nearly nothing to do with heat pumps, it because there is a large amount of electrical resistive heating used in Texas. Converting natural gas furnaces to heat pumps and replacing resistive heating with heat pumps, would not increase the total electricity usage at all. Last I looked 40% of heating in Texas was done through resistive heating, heat pumps would be 3-4x more efficient. There is current power devoted to resistance heating to run heat pumps for every home.
    - phpisthebest 4y ago
      I was not aware that Texas is in the midwest... I am not sure what Texas has to do with anything here. That said, no one isreplacing NatGas with Electric Resistive Heating, that would be crazy, NatGas is still cheaper in most cases for people north of say KY but there are alot of HeatPumps going in I am unclear why you think replacing a NatGas heater with a HeatPump "would not increase the total electricity usage at all" that is just false, and I am not even sure why you would claim other wise, NatGas is not an Electric Fuel Source so when you change from a non-electric fuel source to an electric fuel source you will use more electricity. Now changing from Resistive Electric to heatPump would actually drop your electrical usage in some cases (above 0degrees anyway) Around here it is not uncommon to have a HeatPump with a Gas "emergency" heater for when it gets too cold for the heatpump, as Electric Resistive is TERRIBLE and expensive. The problem is when that combo is sold normally it is wiht 80% furnances or they just leave the old furnace in place and just upgrade the AC/Heatpumpt
mmoskal 4y ago
Interesting to note that there is ~30kWh of energy in a gallon of gasoline, so the reason EV would only take 20% of US electricity consumption is that they are 5x more efficient (than the 20mpg gas figure used). Indeed seems manageable.
- AtlasBarfed 4y ago
  I did not verify his figures, but his methodology was BEV efficiency, not the amount of energy in a gallon of gasoline. Electric drivetrains and cars are designed ground-up for efficiency to a degree that ICE cars are not, as well as the fact that something like 80-90% of energy in a gallon of gasoline is wasted (60-70% due to Carnot efficiency alone).
AtlasBarfed 4y ago
Crypto was 1/5th of the ENTIRE US CONSUMER TRANSPORTATION (BEV efficiency converted)???? That is an astonishing amount of electricity for something of so little value. But anyway, to the larger point, I agree the grid impact is overblown, especially since we should be coupling consumer BEVs with home / business / warehouse / commercial solar.

tigeroil 4y ago

The main thing your comment highlights for me is how much of a push we need for more sustainable methods of transportation in general. There's always going to be people who will need to drive, but there's a hell of a lot of people who could be perfectly adequately served by strong public transportation.

phpisthebest 4y ago
>>but there's a hell of a lot of people who could be perfectly adequately served by strong public transportation. Never going to happen for 80-90% of the US. It is neither economically feasible, culturally feasible, or practically feasible for most people in the US. Work places are too spread out, homes are not located near workplaces, and there is no desire from anyone (my self included) to increase density. I want less density not more, "walkable" cities only work if people actually want to live in a walkable city. Many many many dont

megaman821 4y ago

If it is only 20% more generation, that seems pretty feasible. The widespread usage of air conditioners caused a greater increase in electricity usage than that.

phpisthebest 4y ago
As more and more people switch to Electric Heat (heat pumps i.e AC run backwards) off of NatGas more and more energy companies are pleading with people to turn down their heat in the winter and up in the summer as the grid can not handle it For the first time I can remember, my power company was sending out Texts here in the midwest during that last Arctic blast telling people to use less electricity because the grid was over taxed. Our National Energy grid is very very fragile.
- megaman821 4y ago
  That is such a misrepresentation. It has nearly nothing to do with heat pumps, it because there is a large amount of electrical resistive heating used in Texas. Converting natural gas furnaces to heat pumps and replacing resistive heating with heat pumps, would not increase the total electricity usage at all. Last I looked 40% of heating in Texas was done through resistive heating, heat pumps would be 3-4x more efficient. There is current power devoted to resistance heating to run heat pumps for every home.
  - phpisthebest 4y ago
    I was not aware that Texas is in the midwest... I am not sure what Texas has to do with anything here. That said, no one isreplacing NatGas with Electric Resistive Heating, that would be crazy, NatGas is still cheaper in most cases for people north of say KY but there are alot of HeatPumps going in I am unclear why you think replacing a NatGas heater with a HeatPump "would not increase the total electricity usage at all" that is just false, and I am not even sure why you would claim other wise, NatGas is not an Electric Fuel Source so when you change from a non-electric fuel source to an electric fuel source you will use more electricity. Now changing from Resistive Electric to heatPump would actually drop your electrical usage in some cases (above 0degrees anyway) Around here it is not uncommon to have a HeatPump with a Gas "emergency" heater for when it gets too cold for the heatpump, as Electric Resistive is TERRIBLE and expensive. The problem is when that combo is sold normally it is wiht 80% furnances or they just leave the old furnace in place and just upgrade the AC/Heatpumpt

mmoskal 4y ago

Interesting to note that there is ~30kWh of energy in a gallon of gasoline, so the reason EV would only take 20% of US electricity consumption is that they are 5x more efficient (than the 20mpg gas figure used). Indeed seems manageable.

AtlasBarfed 4y ago
I did not verify his figures, but his methodology was BEV efficiency, not the amount of energy in a gallon of gasoline. Electric drivetrains and cars are designed ground-up for efficiency to a degree that ICE cars are not, as well as the fact that something like 80-90% of energy in a gallon of gasoline is wasted (60-70% due to Carnot efficiency alone).

AtlasBarfed 4y ago

Crypto was 1/5th of the ENTIRE US CONSUMER TRANSPORTATION (BEV efficiency converted)???? That is an astonishing amount of electricity for something of so little value. But anyway, to the larger point, I agree the grid impact is overblown, especially since we should be coupling consumer BEVs with home / business / warehouse / commercial solar.