Bitcoin mining and electricity
Bitcoin mining uses electricity because the machines draw watts the whole time they hash. The electricity is the cost of the work. Efficiency is watts per terahash: the watts a machine draws to produce one terahash of hashrate.
Why one machine uses more electricity than another
Every SHA-256 attempt uses a little electricity, and an ASIC makes an enormous number of them. Hashrate is that count per second. A higher watts-per-terahash number means more electricity for the same TH/s. A lower number means less electricity for the same TH/s. Cooling draws electricity too. An air cooled miner moves air with fans. A hydro cooled or immersion cooled miner moves heat into liquid, and the pumps and heat rejection still draw watts. The Antminer S21 XP Hyd, the Whatsminer M60, and the Antminer S19 Pro each list a hashrate and an efficiency, so you can see the two numbers together. These are ASIC miners, which is why a graphics card is not how Bitcoin is mined now.
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How electricity is taken out here
At Infinity Hash the electricity is taken out of that day's mined bitcoin. There is no separate electricity bill. The TH price covers maintenance and repairs, not the electricity. A miner stays online only while that day's bitcoin covers the electricity and the pool fee. The mining pool page states that pool fee. Bitcoin mining rewards and payouts is the day written down after the electricity comes out.
The watts are spent on the work in Bitcoin mining, which is the search for a Bitcoin block. Mining difficulty and a Bitcoin halving change how much bitcoin that work returns. They do not change the rule above. Hosted hashrate and buying a miner compares this with owning an ASIC and paying an electricity bill yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Because the machines hash continuously, and the network is a race. The electricity is what makes a fake block expensive to produce.
The watts a miner draws for each TH/s it produces. A lower number means less electricity for the same hashrate.
No. The electricity is taken out of that day's mined bitcoin. There is no separate electricity bill.
A miner stays online only while that day's bitcoin covers the electricity and the pool fee.
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The latest Bitcoin miners
The Bitmain Antminer S23 XP Hyd is a hydro-cooled Bitcoin miner delivering 600 TH/s at an efficiency of 8.9 W/TH.
The Bitdeer Sealminer A4 Ultra Hydro is a hydro-cooled Bitcoin miner delivering 886 TH/s at an efficiency of 9.45 W/TH.
The Bitmain Antminer S23 Hyd 3U is a hydro-cooled Bitcoin miner delivering 1160 TH/s at an efficiency of 9.5 W/TH.
The Bitmain Antminer S23 Hyd is a hydro-cooled Bitcoin miner delivering 580 TH/s at an efficiency of 9.5 W/TH.
The Bitmain Antminer S23e Hyd 2U is a hydro-cooled Bitcoin miner delivering 865 TH/s at an efficiency of 10 W/TH.
The Bitdeer Sealminer A4 Pro Hydro is a hydro-cooled Bitcoin miner delivering 680 TH/s at an efficiency of 10.9 W/TH.
The Bitdeer Sealminer A4 Pro Air is an air-cooled Bitcoin miner delivering 336 TH/s at an efficiency of 10.9 W/TH.
The Bitmain Antminer S23 is an air-cooled Bitcoin miner delivering 318 TH/s at an efficiency of 11 W/TH.
The Bitmain Antminer S21 XP+ Hyd is a hydro-cooled Bitcoin miner delivering 500 TH/s at an efficiency of 12 W/TH.
The Bitmain Antminer S21j XP Hyd is a hydro-cooled Bitcoin miner delivering 495 TH/s at an efficiency of 12 W/TH.