Keeping crypto mining rigs nice and cool is no joke. Heck, people will submerge the darn things in non-conductive fluids to keep the heat at bay. But what if you could use that heat to keep yourself warm during winter, while making a few bucks on the side? Say hello to the world’s first crypto heater, the QC-1.
Created by French firm Garnot and five years in the making, the QC-1 makes use of a “patented” design that removes the need for active cooling. Instead, the heater’s twin Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX580 GPUs dissipate heat via the QC-1’s aluminium housing, transforming it into a giant heatsink.
By default, the heater mines Ethereum, however, you can tap into its Linux-based operating system to mine whatever you like.
Of course, this leads us to the (literal) million-dollar question: how much money can the QC-1 make? For Australians… the numbers do not look good.
First of all, the price of the heater itself. That’s €2900, or $4544 (shipping not included). So the idea of it paying for itself in a reasonably timeframe are out the window.
OK, can it at least subside its running costs?
According to Canstar Blue, these are the average power costs across Australia, as of January 2018:
- VIC: 27.5597c/kWh
- QLD: 29.0135c/kWh
- NSW: 33.3283c/kWh
- SA: 43.6706c/kWh
These prices don’t account for the supply charge, which can contribute significantly to the cost. Best case, hypothetical scenario, you live in Victoria and for some reason, don’t have to worry about other tariffs or prices.
Here’s what you can expect to earn, based on the advertised hashing rate of 60MH/s and 450W draw.
$95 a year. Depending on which direction the cryptocurrency markets go, this could be worth a lot more. At Ethereum’s all-time high of ~$1800, it’s much more appealing.
Right now though? Maybe just stick with the Dimplex.
[Garnot, via TechCrunch]