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> Even more interesting is the comparison to the US dollar which ostensibly is backed by all US Energy consumption less maybe residential consumption which was
by CrazyStat 3y ago
> Even more interesting is the comparison to the US dollar which ostensibly is backed by all US Energy consumption less maybe residential consumption which was 2.86e13[2] kwh less residential at ~21% = 2.28e13. Now let's compare the USD energy consumption to bitcoin which was 1.29e11[1] kwh in 2021 which would make Bitcoin ~200x more efficient than the USD in terms of energy required to secure.
If you can find a way to also provide all the goods and services that were provided with that energy while using your energy to mine bitcoin, then I will accept your comparison.
Otherwise this comparison is complete bullshit.
- Verdex 3y agoTo be fair to AustinDev's comparison, I knew that crypto was massively wasteful. However, hearing that it's 1/100th of US manufacturing does put things into perspective. I once toured an automotive plant. The idea that crypto could possibly be 1/100th of just that one plant would have been terrifying. The idea that crypto has reached 1/100th of ALL US manufacturing ... EDIT: It sounds like automotive plants measure their output in something like thousands of cars per week. Imagine the energy required to move just a single car through a factory. And all of the work that goes into assembling it. And lighting and hvac for the factory. Then multiply it by 10000, then by 50 (~weeks in year), then by total number of automotive factories in US, then do the same for all of the other manufacturing industries in the US. Finally divide all that by 100. Yeah ... I consider myself not to have an environmentalist bone in my body, but I'm suddenly not feeling so well.
- tptacek 3y agoAll of food, metals, minerals, and paper are each single-digit percentage consumers of energy (all US food manufacturing is 6%). The largest US manufacturing subsector, chemicals, is just ~35%. 1% of manufacturing is an enormous number.
- akomtu 3y agoWhat's wrong with using bitcoin miners as home heaters? All the electricity they use becomes heat, so a miner is just a furnace with a gpu.
- SketchySeaBeast 3y agoNothing really, though I'd argue it's not built to move the heat around well, but there's good odds that that home heater is going to be fighting with the AC units that are being used to keep the home cool for the months it's not winter and in locations where there is little to no winter.
- verdverm 3y agoIt's wasteful compared to using hardware that is purpose built for climate control. Also, what do you do in the summer, turn off the miner or increase the AC? (which is more expensive than heating)
- 15155 3y agoVent and intake the miner to the outside in the summer.
- verdverm 3y agoor just don't mine? that is a lot cheaper and less work how long does it take to see an ROI?
- 15155 3y agoTo the chagrin of most anti-PoW folks: I can ROI on new equipment in 60-90 days. No miner of any scale is using air conditioning (compressor.)
- verdverm 3y agoThis is at home mining, not industrial size, you contradict yourself
- 15155 3y agoNo miner of any scale is nor should be using air conditioning. If a home miner is foolishly using air conditioning, they are lighting money on fire. These folks represent an infinitesimal minority of all mining-related energy consumption. Sub-ambient cooling is for human comfort: machines are happy working in 100F ambient. If you can recycle the heat in the winter, that's great, but you certainly shouldn't be trying to cool sub-ambient in the summer.