Mining Bitcoin is one of the major global energy consumers today. Comparing the past statistics with the present ones shows a generally increasing trend. Additionally, energy consumption due to Bitcoin mining has increased more significantly lately. The high power requirement isn’t a fault but a mechanism that Bitcoin’s developer created to slow down supply and make the network safer.
Bitcoin mining occurs whenever there’s a transaction request. During the process, miners solve complex algorithms to add a transaction record to the blockchain. In return, they get payments called rewards for every block of information they successfully record. Bitcoin block rewards ensure a controlled supply of new coins. And this means more transactions lead to more new Bitcoins in the network.
Why Bitcoin Mining Consumes a Lot of Power?
It would be just normal if Bitcoin mining consumed less electrical energy. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case because the values are so massive that you can’t easily believe them. Mining is immensely power-hungry because the equipment it uses comprises usual computers. They’re heavy machines with greater computing power.
So, you require more electrical power in a Bitcoin mining facility to operate the supercomputers. However, machine operation is one of many things needing a lot of energy during mining. Several units of electrical energy also go into the running of various cooling mechanisms to keep the equipment safe and maintain high efficiency. The high power consumption has also resulted in some of the most concerning environmental damages.
Bitcoin Mining Energy Consumption
First, you should always remember that the energy consumption rate during Bitcoin mining varies. Instead, the value varies depending on the network’s traffic. The transactions come from all the channels, including powerful crypto trading platforms like this website Tesler and others. Today, mining one Bitcoin consumes approximately 1449 kWh of electrical energy.
The amount of energy for mining a Bitcoin exceeds what various homes consume in the US and beyond within the same period. Bitcoin mining would be in the top 10 high-power consumers in the world if it were a country. Its annual power requirements exceed many countries by far. And since there are still more than 1 million Bitcoins to mine, you can imagine the damages this will cause to the natural environment.
Ensuring Energy Efficiency When Mining Bitcoin
Everyone in the cryptocurrency mining business worries about power consumption because almost all the revenue they get can go into paying electricity bills. But there’s a better chance to minimize energy consumption and maximize revenue. And that’s by using energy more efficiently. There are two primary ways a Bitcoin mining firm can use the available energy resources.
The first and simplest option is to use highly efficient computers when setting up your nodes. And this will ensure that the work is done correctly without sucking too much power from the grid. Another excellent option is minimizing the reliance on nonrenewable energy sources. Therefore, instead of producing power by burning oil and other carbon fuels, electric power plants can shift to environmentally friendly alternatives such as solar energy.
The Bottom Line!
Mining Bitcoin consumes more power than in some countries. The energy goes into running the mining supercomputers and cooling purposes. Cooling is essential because it keeps electrical components safe and ensures high efficiency. One Bitcoin sucks about 1449 kWh of electrical energy to completely mine. Mining firms can lower power consumption by installing more energy-efficient supercomputers. In addition, power generation plants should shift from nonrenewable to renewable energy resources.
