So I am pretty new to bitcoin, but I am concerned with energy usage of the system.
I estimate that the bitcoin system is running on well over 400 kW in pure computation power.
Thats quite a bit of power.
Not if you consider the amount of energy it takes to run other monetary systems. Just because your cash doesn't require energy to use, doesn't mean that it didn't take energy to create. It took quite a bit, and considering the network of banks and institutions that exist to support the electronic flow of those same notes, the energy costs of the US FRN are astronomical compared to Bitcoin.
In some ways it's comparable to the energy required to dry your hands in a public bathroom. Which takes more energy, the paper towel or the hot air blowdryer? The answer is counter-intuitive, because we
see the energy that the dryer uses; but we tend to overlook the energy required to 1) grow the trees, 2) harvest the trees, 3) produce the paper, 4) ship the rolls of paper towels, 5) and repeatedly replace the rolls as they empty.
The hot air blowdryer is orders of magnitude more energy efficient than a paper towel dispensory, as long as the dryer itself is reliable.
My plan is to mine over winter and use the heat generated to heat my apartment.
Good plan
I was also thinking about adding in some solar panels.
Probably not so good of a plan; unless you live in a desert or otherwise want the solar panels for some other reason. I've looked into this for my own home, and the panels never make their own cost of production back within their life expectancy. And only make sense in remote conditions. or if you expect that the power grid will fail sometime within your lifetime.
Doing those things would make me feel better about the mining, but I am still not 100% comfortable with the idea of being a part of the system which is energy intensive as a whole. I understand that this may not be a concern for many people, but I thought I would throw it out there and see what people are thinking. Thanks for your input.
Please add, "Bitcoin mining is not energy intensive compared to alternatives" to your poll, please.