Post
Topic
Board CPU/GPU Bitcoin mining hardware
Topic OP
BTC accepted for Solar + Mining?
by
Cochese
on 08/05/2013, 04:19:38 UTC
Apologies if this has already been a topic--I searched for "solar" and didn't see anything like this. I am proposing to accept BTC for solar systems/kits.

Solar power has never been cheaper, battery technology has been improving as well. Bitcoin will eventually take over. I think merging my favorite ideas makes perfect sense.

Full disclosure: I have a very modest amount of LTC, and an even smaller amount in BTC (total for both < USD 1000 for now). I don't know if my bosses will go for this, but if there is sufficient interest, I'm going to strenuously insist we accept BTC for solar packages. I am very confident I can persuade them based on preliminary conversations. Assuming they do:

You may have the option of purchasing fully installed systems, depending on where in the eastern USA you are. At the very least we can send kits anywhere in the world to be installed by you or another professional.

Here are some numbers I've run from the Mining Calculator, and I would love some feedback on these. I've rounded up to assume a 1000W system (I see the Avalons are 620W). 1000Wx24h uptime x 365 days = 8,760 kwh. This assumes 100% uptime for the year.

The amount of kwh your solar system produces depends on your latitude, shading, etc. PVWatts is a great resource for figuring this out in the USA. For instance, let's take New York City (not exactly the best for solar at 41 degrees latitude, but ok). If you install a 7kw system (put 7 in the "DC Rating (kW):" field), you should end up with a little over 8500 kwh produced per year. That is extremely close to paying for 100% uptime on Avalons yearly with free solar energy.

Before I go further, I want to gauge people's interest. If we accept BTC as payment for solar systems/kits, who is interested? Based on the current USD/BTC price ($113), the 7kw grid-tied system mentioned above would be around BTC270 installed. The final price depends on where you are and what you want of course--prices will differ around the US/world. Escrow transactions would be welcomed.

*edit to adjust price from BTC250 to BTC270--I apologize, in my haste I didn't take freight, etc. into account.