Post
Topic
Board Mining speculation
Re: We'd love board feedback on our concept: Combined Heating and Computation
by
mwizard
on 11/09/2014, 01:44:55 UTC

**Thanks for the feedback - its good stuff... except for #4.  We're talking about a minimum temperature difference today of > 100f to ambient which is more than enough to run a single or double effect absorber.  Remember, this thing is running at 180 to 200f right now (with off the shelf parts!), that's more than enough TD to regenerate desiccant or run an absorber.  The ideal range for the absorptive refrigerator is 180 - 200f, if you go above 230f it actually looses efficiency and starts to break down the refrigerant.  The plan is start building chips that hit 210 to 250f.

http://web.stanford.edu/group/narratives/classes/08-09/CEE215/ReferenceLibrary/Chillers/AbsorptionChillerGuideline.pdf
http://www.yazakienergy.com/waterfired.htm


No one is saying that absorption refrigeration is not possible.  When I was very young my parents lived off the electrical grid.  We had a refrigerator which ran by burning kerosene.  It used absorptive refrigeration.  The refrigerator was replaced as soon as the electricity grid became available.  

We are just saying it is extremely unlikely to be economic running off bitcoin miners.

With your proposed temperature difference of 50C or even 100F the efficiency will be 5 to 10%. The second law of thermodynamics sets an absolute limit to any heat engine.

Lets be really totally optimistic and assume  you are aiming for a 10% efficiency.  If you output 1,000W of heat from a miner you will get at the most 100W of useful work out and still have to get rid of at least 900 Watts of heat.  I just cannot see it even coming close to making economic sense.

Your web site says you have a "Lead Scientist" so I assume there has been some calculations done on expected energy output, on the overall economics, and on waste heat removal to maintain the 100f difference in temperature.

To repeat.  It is the efficiency and economics we question.  Not whether absorption refrigeration exists.