I'm trying to start a business in my house: Cryptomining. Essentially, I will be buying many big power-hungry computers which will print money out of thin air. It's a very lucrative business.
(source: coindesk.com)
Right now my house's utility supply is 200A 120v + 200A 240v, which is 72 kW 48kW total. This means I should be able to use ~32 kW for my equipment aside from all the household appliances. The equipment can accept both voltages and actually is more efficient on 240v.
Can the public electricity supply to my home be upgraded? The house is located in a development off the main road. The wiring runs underground for about 1000 ft. until it connects to the utility pole on the main road. So my guess is a solid "no".
I have considered renting a small warehouse and starting the business there. The problem is, most of the properties I find on real estate search engines (like Loopnet) only have 100 or 200 amp service. I need at least 120 kW in order for moving out of the house to be worthwhile.
What are my options? I know heat dissipation will be a big problem as well, but let's set that aside for a moment.
EDIT: My location is central New Jersey, U.S.A., and my house was built in 1998.
Best Answer
This is an economics game. Electricity is #1.
So the very first conversation you need to have is with the electric company. And you need to cast your nets far and wide: Read this discussion of this rate in Georgia and think about the impact that has on your profitability. For instance the example I mentioned was a 2000 watt continuous load (1440kw/month) - cost $27 (1.8 cent/kwh) winter, and $84 (5.8 cent/kwh) summer. Have I got your undivided attention?
So you need to shop, not even locally, but nationally, for rates like that. And then, you need to go to wherever those rates are. I suspect commercial is out of the question; they'll never give a business rates like that, but ask. And don't give them your real name. Now, moving to another state for those rates may seem unreasonable, but run the numbers before you say that. If you'll make $50k/year extra for doing this in Georgia instead of California, you can learn to like Cracker Barrel and calling all sodas Coke.
Second, think about service into the building. 400A residential service is actually common where all-electric homes exist. That's because the heat pump needs an auxiliary heater, typically 140 amps, for when it's too cold outside for the heat pump to work. Your servers are your aux heat, and your bigger problem is removing heat; your heat pump will be running in A/C mode even in the winter, and you'll need supplemental A/C in the summer. (or better yet, shut it off during the heat of the day; that will dovetail nicely with avoiding those peak load charges.)
Third, think about other uses of the building. I would consider several houses as your facility, to capture those amazing residential rates. That has "AirBnB" written all over it: get a portfolio of vacation homes on a Georgia beach that have back rooms you can secure without wrecking their AirBnB value... and you're making money two ways.
I'd also think about equipment cooling. One very effective strategy is water-cooling the relevant parts. You interchange that outside either to an automotive radiator from a junkyard, or you interchange heat with water drawn from a ground source, or river, lake or ocean shore. Which implies riverfront, lakefront or beach property :)
A few numbers
You want to do this at, at least, 120kw. A 400A home has 96kw of service, so let's get 2 of them, using 60kw and leaving 36kw for household loads and the A/C you'll need. 60kw run continuously is 43200kwh.
In California (.16/kwh) that would cost you about $7000/month x 2 houses = $14,000.
That Georgia rate (.01/kwh and 6.64/kw): $830/month x 2 = $1670.
I don't know how much money you're making from the coin, but saving $12,300 a month is huge.
And even if your venture in cryptocurrency ends up a big bust-out, you've got vacation rental income, and you own some nice properties.