Always check your electricity rate

Yesterday, someone asked me, 'Why are you always going on about electricity costs?'

I have watched folks burn through over $50,000 because they didn't learn this lesson the easy way.

I met this guy back in 2024. He bought 15 S19s, which cost him about $45,000 if not more. His plan was to mine Bitcoin at home. He figured his electricity would cost him $0.18/kWh (he didn't bother to check beforehand), and a YouTube video told him he'd see a return on his investment in 18 months.

But after just three months, reality hit hard. He was making $2,100 a month, but his electricity bill was a whopping $3,900! That meant he was losing $1,800 every month. He was essentially paying to mine Bitcoin.

After three months, he was already $5,400 in the hole. If he'd kept going for six months, he'd have been down $10,800. And by the end of those 18 months, he'd have lost $32,400. He finally cut his losses and sold everything after four months. The damage was around $12,000 in losses, plus another $15,000 because he had to sell his miners for cheap. That's a total of $27,000.

A lesson learned the hard way.

1. Check electricity costs FIRST.

2. Calculate everything based on HIS rates, not someone else's.

3. Find hosting at a lower rate, like $0.065/kWh or even less, or sell the miners before starting.

If he'd done those things, the numbers would have looked a whole lot different. Same 15 miners, but at $0.065/kWh… he'd still make $2,100 a month, but his electricity bill would only be $1,400. That's a profit of $700 a month.

That's a $2,500 difference every month. Or $30,000 per year.

So, that's why I harp on about electricity costs. It's just one number, but it can make or break everything.

Check your electricity rate before you buy your equipment. Don't wait until it's too late.