Topic: Is it profitable or practical to set up a mining farm in the UK? (Read 83 times)

Power is minimum £0.25 ($0.30) in UK, typically higher. As I've already stated, unless the OP has access to free electricity or generates his own, mining BTC will not be profitable for him, in fact he will lose A LOT of money.

high power costs means you need the most efficient gear.

if you want to mine BTC you need this gear:

https://altairtech.io/product/bitmain-antminer-s21-xp/

it is costly about 7,600 usd a unit or 6,208 pounds

if you sink in 100k you get 15 pieces = 93,120 pounds with left over for wiring filters cooling.

15 units do 4,050 th or  187.52 pounds a day  no power cost figured in. So in 500 days if power was zero you would break even.

the real question is what do you burn .  15 units burn 1335 kwatts a day that is 133.50 pounds of you power cost is .10 pounds a kwatt

or 187.52-133.50 = 54.02 pounds a day profit.  1740 days to pay off the gear.

So 94,000 pounds for the best gear to mine btc will be terrible at .10 pounds a kwatt. higher cost would be worse

what does your power cost?

.10 pounds      54.02 pound daily profit
.11 pounds      40.67 pound daily profit
.12 pounds      27.32 pound daily profit
.13 pounds      13.97 pound daily profit
.14 pounds          .62 pound daily profit


So If I were you I would not do it at .10 pounds a kwatt or higher power cost.

Hi Adam,

Setting up a Bitcoin mining farm in the UK could certainly be an exciting venture, but there are a number of factors to consider when evaluating its profitability and practicality, especially given the current market and the high cost of electricity. Let's break this down:

1. Profitability in the UK (Considering Electricity Costs)
The UK's electricity costs are relatively high compared to other regions where mining operations tend to thrive, like parts of China, Russia, or the US (especially areas with low-cost hydroelectric power). Mining Bitcoin is energy-intensive, so the high energy prices in the UK could severely eat into any potential profits. For example, if you're looking at the Antminer S19 (a common mining rig), it consumes around 3250 watts. The cost of electricity per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in the UK varies but is often between £0.20 and £0.30. This means you'll be spending a significant portion of your earnings on electricity alone.

With Bitcoin’s fluctuating price and mining difficulty, the margins can be very thin. Additionally, mining hardware quickly becomes outdated as newer, more efficient machines are released. You would also have to factor in operational expenses, such as maintenance, cooling systems, fire safety, and other infrastructure costs.

2. How Many Mining Machines Could £50,000 Buy?
For an investment of £50,000, you could likely afford around 25 to 30 mining rigs (like Antminer S19s), depending on their market price at the time of purchase. Each rig would cost between £1,500 and £2,000 or more, including shipping, depending on the model. However, remember that the price of Bitcoin, mining difficulty, and electricity rates all directly impact your profitability.

3. Additional Costs
Electrical Infrastructure: Mining rigs require substantial power, so you'd need to ensure your industrial units' electrical infrastructure can handle this load. Upgrading the grid connections, setting up transformers, and meeting regulatory requirements can incur additional costs.

Cooling Systems: The heat generated by mining rigs is significant. Cooling solutions like fans, air conditioners, or even liquid cooling can add to your setup costs. The cooling systems will also increase electricity usage.

Fire Safety: Since you're dealing with a lot of high-powered electrical equipment, fire safety is essential. You'll need to invest in proper fire suppression systems, fire-rated cabling, and possibly insurance coverage for this high-risk operation.

4. Better Coins to Mine than Bitcoin?
Yes, there are potentially more profitable coins to mine than Bitcoin, particularly if you're working with limited capital or operating in a region with high electricity costs. Coins like Ethereum, Ravencoin, Litecoin, or ZCash can sometimes offer better margins, depending on the specific hardware you're using and the market conditions. However, mining these coins still requires research and consideration of hardware compatibility, difficulty levels, and overall market trends.

5. Difficulty of Setting Up the Farm
Setting up a mining farm isn't particularly difficult, but it does require a solid understanding of hardware, software, and electricity management. There are a number of online resources and forums that guide miners through the process, but expect a learning curve. Additionally, running a mining farm requires ongoing maintenance, updates to software, and possibly dealing with hardware failures or outages.

6. Other Factors to Consider
Regulatory Issues: Be aware of any local regulations around cryptocurrency mining, particularly as the UK is tightening up on crypto-related activities in terms of taxation and energy consumption.

Environmental Concerns: Since you're running a high-powered operation, it's also worth considering the environmental impact and how that might affect your business model, especially with increasing pressure on businesses to be more sustainable.
Market Volatility: Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile. Bitcoin’s price can swing dramatically, meaning your profitability can change overnight. You need to be prepared for periods of low profitability or even losses.

Thanks for all the replies so far, the info is very useful. I'm getting the impression that this might not be a particularly could use of the funds, unless of course there's a big drop in electricity prices, or the price of crypto moons.

Does anyone know of any consultants who specialise in this sort of thing and could advise on the whole process?

Thanks.

Assuming a unit cost of £0.25 GBP (which is about the best rate currently available in UK), if you bought the most efficient BTC miner currently available (S21 XP, 270T) you should expect to lose approximately £10.00 GBP per miner, per day.

You need access to cheap electricity (e.g. generate it yourself) in order to make profit from BTC miners.

It might be worth considering some Antminer L9 (Scrypt), these would currently make around £16 profit per unit, daily - but will have a much higher outlay. £50k would buy you about 5 or 6 units.

Please give me an answer to a few simple questions
What is the cost of electricity?
Maximum authorized power consumption?

Do you have noise regulations? Asics are noisy, you can also use immersion or water cooling, but it is more complicated and expensive.

Website i mentioned below mention mining LTC+DOGE could give you more profit per day. But you'll need to do your own research and speculation about whether it'll be better than mining BItcoin on longer term.


OP also could use https://www.asicminervalue.com/ which mention list of ASIC along with it's hashrate and estimated price.

Use https://whattomine.com/asic  Select sha256, plug in the hash rate and power used, your power cost and a few other things. From what I've read about UK power rates it would NOT be profitable.

Hi,

Someone I know owns an industrial site with six unused units on it, each around the size of a shipping container, all wired into the national grid.

They've floated the idea of setting up a Bitcoin mining farm given the recent explosion in the price of the coin.

They've got £50,000-£100k to drop on the project, possibly more if they can realistically make money.

My questions are:

Is it worth it? Will they make a profit after the initial expense given the UK's high electricity costs?

How many mining machines would, say, £50,000 buy?

What other things do they need to consider cost-wise, ie electrical infrastructure, cooling, fire safety etc?

Is there a better coin to mine than Bitcoin?

How difficult is it to set up the farm initially?

Any other factors they need to consider.


Many thanks,
Adam