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Solar Bitcoin Mining Calculator

Size a solar system for your ASIC or GPU mining operation — see electricity savings, breakeven, and battery requirements.

Mining setup
rigs
hrs/day
$/kWh
hrs/day
Daily electricity consumption
84.0 kWh/day
Total mining load3,500 W (3.5 kW)
Monthly kWh consumption2,554 kWh
Monthly electricity cost (grid)$255
Annual electricity cost (grid)$3,066
Solar system size needed3.5 kW
Solar panels needed9 × 400 W panels
Solar system cost estimate$9,800
Annual electricity savings$549
Battery for 24/7 mining84 kWh (≈$29,094)
Solar payback period214 months
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How to Use This Calculator

Select your mining device

Choose from common ASIC miners (Antminer S21, S19 Pro, S19j Pro) or GPU rigs. The device wattage is the actual wall power draw — what your electricity meter sees. For custom builds, select "Custom wattage" and enter your measured draw from a Kill-A-Watt meter or PDU readings.

Enter your mining hours and electricity rate

Bitcoin ASIC miners are typically run 24 hours/day to maximize profitability. GPU rigs may run fewer hours if throttled for heat or noise. Enter your current electricity rate — this is the most critical input since electricity cost is the largest operating expense in mining.

Understand the solar outputs

The calculator shows the solar system size needed to match your mining load, cost estimate, annual electricity savings, and breakeven period. The battery figure shows the kWh needed to power mining through non-solar hours — enabling 24/7 solar-powered operation.

The Formula

Total Mining Load (kW) = Device Watts × Number of Rigs / 1000 Daily kWh = Total kW × Hours per Day Monthly kWh = Daily kWh × 30.4 Annual Electricity Cost = Annual kWh × Electricity Rate Solar System Size = Mining Load kW (matches load 1:1) Solar Annual Production = System kW × PSH × 365 × 0.86 Annual kWh Saved = min(Annual Mining kWh, Annual Solar Production) Annual Savings = Annual kWh Saved × Electricity Rate Solar System Cost = System kW × 1000 W × $2.80/W (installed) Battery for 24/7 = Mining kW × (24 - PSH) hrs × 1.25 buffer Payback Months = Solar System Cost / Annual Savings × 12

The $2.80/W installed cost is a US commercial average for ground-mount or warehouse-roof solar with permitting. Large-scale mining farms can negotiate $1.80–$2.20/W for utility-scale installations. Battery cost uses $350/kWh for LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cells — appropriate for stationary mining applications.

Example

Single Antminer S21 — Texas, 5.5 peak sun hours

A miner in Texas runs one Antminer S21 (3,500 W) at $0.10/kWh grid power, 24 hours/day. Solar system sized to match mining load.

Daily consumption84 kWh/day
Monthly electricity cost$255/month
Annual electricity cost$3,066/year
Solar system needed3.5 kW (9 panels)
Solar system cost~$9,800
Annual savings~$1,690/year
Battery for 24/7 mining~65 kWh ($22,750)
Solar payback (daytime only)~70 months

Solar covers the miner's daytime hours (5.5 hrs/day), cutting electricity cost by ~55% and saving $1,690/year. Full 24/7 solar operation requires significant battery storage ($22,750), which extends the combined payback substantially. Most miners use solar for daytime operation only, buying grid power at night.

FAQ

Solar mining can be profitable, but the economics depend on three interacting variables: Bitcoin price, mining difficulty, and electricity cost. Solar eliminates the electricity cost during solar hours — typically the largest operating expense. In high-sun locations (Texas, Arizona, Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa), solar can bring effective electricity cost below $0.04/kWh — better than nearly any grid rate. The key advantage: once the solar system is paid off (typically 4–7 years for mining loads), electricity is free, dramatically improving long-term profitability regardless of Bitcoin price.
An Antminer S21 at 3,500 W requires approximately 9 × 400 W panels (3.5 kW system) to match its power draw during peak solar hours. In practice, you want a slight oversize (10–15%) to account for temperature derating, inverter losses, and partial cloud cover. So 10–11 panels for one S21 is a realistic recommendation. For a 50-unit ASIC farm, that's 450–550 panels and a 175 kW solar array.
Not necessarily. The most cost-effective approach is "solar during the day, grid at night." This eliminates the high battery capital cost while still cutting electricity expenses by 20–35% (the daytime fraction of 24-hour mining). Batteries become economical if: (1) you're off-grid, (2) grid power is extremely expensive or unreliable, or (3) you have time-of-use rates where daytime grid power is much cheaper and you want to store solar for peak pricing periods. For most miners, a grid-tied solar system without batteries gives the best ROI.
Grid mining at $0.10/kWh costs $3,066/year for one S21. Solar covers ~5.5 solar hours/day in Texas — cutting that to ~$1,376/year (55% reduction). After solar payback (~6 years), those solar hours cost $0. The effective long-term electricity cost drops toward $0.03–$0.04/kWh over a 20-year solar lifetime — far below any grid rate. Industrial miners increasingly colocate near solar farms for this reason, securing power purchase agreements at $0.02–$0.04/kWh for long-term competitive advantage.
The best locations combine high solar irradiance with low land costs and favorable regulations. Top regions: West Texas and New Mexico (6–7 peak sun hours, low land cost, grid connection available), Arizona and Nevada (similar irradiance, established mining infrastructure), Middle East and North Africa (highest irradiance globally, 7–9 hrs), and sub-Saharan Africa (Kenya, Ethiopia — good sun, improving grid). Cold climates (Kazakhstan, Canada, Siberia) benefit miners thermally (free cooling) but lose on solar. The optimal solar mining location has 5.5+ peak sun hours per day.

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