Bitcoin heater versus space heater: what the heat really costs
Heater miners such as the Avalon Mini 3 and Heatbit sell the idea of heat that pays for itself. Here is the arithmetic, at each state's average home electricity price.
A plug-in space heater and a Bitcoin miner both turn nearly every watt they draw into heat. DOE describes electric resistance heat as converting all of its electricity to heat, and a miner's chips do the same while they compute. So an 800 W heater miner warms a room the same as an 800 W heater, and costs the same to run. The difference is that it also earns mining income.
At today's hashprice an Avalon Mini 3 earns about $1.37 a day, worth 7.15¢ for each kWh it uses. At the U.S. average price of 18.31¢ that takes about 39% off the cost of the heat. It does not make the heat free, and it only counts if you would have run an electric heater anyway.
Price the heat from your miner
Pick a miner or type your own hashrate and wall watts. Use the price per kWh from your bill, and today's hashprice if it has moved.
Breakeven electricity price for this miner: –. Income = TH/s × hashprice ÷ 1,000. Hashprice is gross, before pool fees (often 0 to 2.5%), and moves with the Bitcoin price, network difficulty and fees. Hashprice $36.59 per PH/s a day ($0.0366 per TH/s), BTC $81,446, as of Oct 23, 2026.
Heater miners and plain heaters at 18.31¢ per kWh
| Heater | Power8 h a day, 30 days | Mining income8 h a day | Net heat cost8 h a day | Power24 h a day | Net heat cost24 h a day | Discount on heat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avalon Mini 3800 W, 37.5 TH/s | $35.16 | $13.72 | $21.43 | $105 | $64.30 | 39% |
| Heatbit Maxi1,500 W, 39 TH/s | $65.92 | $14.27 | $51.65 | $198 | $155 | 22% |
| Heatbit Maxi Pro1,500 W, 60 TH/s | $65.92 | $21.95 | $43.96 | $198 | $132 | 33% |
| Plain space heater800 W, no mining | $35.16 | $0.00 | $35.16 | $105 | $105 | 0% |
| Plain space heater1,500 W, no mining | $65.92 | $0.00 | $65.92 | $198 | $198 | 0% |
U.S. average residential price, July 2026. Rated wall power and hashrate. Mining income is gross at $36.59 per PH/s a day. Discount = mining income ÷ electricity cost.
The effective price of heat in every state
An Avalon Mini 3 earns the same 7.15¢ per kWh everywhere, so it knocks the same amount off every state's price. Where power is cheap the discount is a larger share.
| State | Home priceJuly 2026 | Heat from an Avalon Mini 3effective ¢/kWh | Cheaper than a plain heater by | 1,500 W space heater8 h a day, per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 16.40¢ | 9.25¢ | 44% | $59.04 |
| Alaska | 28.83¢ | 21.68¢ | 25% | $104 |
| Arizona | 15.38¢ | 8.23¢ | 46% | $55.37 |
| Arkansas | 14.33¢ | 7.18¢ | 50% | $51.59 |
| California | 33.61¢ | 26.46¢ | 21% | $121 |
| Colorado | 17.00¢ | 9.85¢ | 42% | $61.20 |
| Connecticut | 24.16¢ | 17.01¢ | 30% | $86.98 |
| Delaware | 18.48¢ | 11.33¢ | 39% | $66.53 |
| District of Columbia | 25.21¢ | 18.06¢ | 28% | $90.76 |
| Florida | 15.03¢ | 7.88¢ | 48% | $54.11 |
| Georgia | 16.27¢ | 9.12¢ | 44% | $58.57 |
| Hawaii | 48.00¢ | 40.85¢ | 15% | $173 |
| Idaho | 13.73¢ | 6.58¢ | 52% | $49.43 |
| Illinois | 19.22¢ | 12.07¢ | 37% | $69.19 |
| Indiana | 16.73¢ | 9.58¢ | 43% | $60.23 |
| Iowa | 15.99¢ | 8.84¢ | 45% | $57.56 |
| Kansas | 15.27¢ | 8.12¢ | 47% | $54.97 |
| Kentucky | 13.81¢ | 6.66¢ | 52% | $49.72 |
| Louisiana | 12.72¢ | 5.57¢ | 56% | $45.79 |
| Maine | 32.41¢ | 25.26¢ | 22% | $117 |
| Maryland | 21.41¢ | 14.26¢ | 33% | $77.08 |
| Massachusetts | 30.49¢ | 23.34¢ | 23% | $110 |
| Michigan | 23.05¢ | 15.90¢ | 31% | $82.98 |
| Minnesota | 17.45¢ | 10.30¢ | 41% | $62.82 |
| Mississippi | 14.54¢ | 7.39¢ | 49% | $52.34 |
| Missouri | 16.09¢ | 8.94¢ | 44% | $57.92 |
| Montana | 14.99¢ | 7.84¢ | 48% | $53.96 |
| Nebraska | 13.78¢ | 6.63¢ | 52% | $49.61 |
| Nevada | 12.77¢ | 5.62¢ | 56% | $45.97 |
| New Hampshire | 26.60¢ | 19.45¢ | 27% | $95.76 |
| New Jersey | 25.19¢ | 18.04¢ | 28% | $90.68 |
| New Mexico | 16.09¢ | 8.94¢ | 44% | $57.92 |
| New York | 29.90¢ | 22.75¢ | 24% | $108 |
| North Carolina | 15.16¢ | 8.01¢ | 47% | $54.58 |
| North Dakota | 13.41¢ | 6.26¢ | 53% | $48.28 |
| Ohio | 19.45¢ | 12.30¢ | 37% | $70.02 |
| Oklahoma | 14.35¢ | 7.20¢ | 50% | $51.66 |
| Oregon | 15.97¢ | 8.82¢ | 45% | $57.49 |
| Pennsylvania | 21.72¢ | 14.57¢ | 33% | $78.19 |
| Rhode Island | 28.29¢ | 21.14¢ | 25% | $102 |
| South Carolina | 15.47¢ | 8.32¢ | 46% | $55.69 |
| South Dakota | 15.37¢ | 8.22¢ | 46% | $55.33 |
| Tennessee | 13.71¢ | 6.56¢ | 52% | $49.36 |
| Texas | 15.88¢ | 8.73¢ | 45% | $57.17 |
| Utah | 13.12¢ | 5.97¢ | 54% | $47.23 |
| Vermont | 23.75¢ | 16.60¢ | 30% | $85.50 |
| Virginia | 17.55¢ | 10.40¢ | 41% | $63.18 |
| Washington | 14.71¢ | 7.56¢ | 49% | $52.96 |
| West Virginia | 15.78¢ | 8.63¢ | 45% | $56.81 |
| Wisconsin | 19.06¢ | 11.91¢ | 37% | $68.62 |
| Wyoming | 14.36¢ | 7.21¢ | 50% | $51.70 |
Before you buy
- Price the hardware. On Oct 23, 2026 Canaan listed the Avalon Mini 3 at $999 and Heatbit showed the Maxi Pro at $1,499, marked down from $1,999. At today's hashprice the Avalon Mini 3 earns $1.37 a day running flat out, so it takes about 728 days of round-the-clock use for mining income to cover the price. A plain heater is far cheaper to buy.
- Hashprice moves. It falls when difficulty rises and follows the Bitcoin price. Rerun the calculator with the current figure before deciding.
- Treat it like any heater. CPSC's space heater advice (clearance, wall outlet, no extension cords) applies. A 1,500 W unit draws about 12.5 A at 120 V, close to the 12 A continuous limit of a 15 A circuit.
Questions
Is a Bitcoin heater cheaper to run than a space heater?
The electricity is the same for the same wattage. The mining income makes the net cost lower: about 39% lower for an Avalon Mini 3 at the U.S. average price and today's hashprice. The heater miner costs much more to buy.
Does a Bitcoin miner heat as well as a space heater?
Watt for watt, yes. Almost all the power a miner draws ends up as heat in the room. An 800 W miner gives roughly the heat of an 800 W heater; a 1,500 W miner roughly that of a 1,500 W heater on high.
Is a heat pump better than a Bitcoin heater?
For heating a whole home, usually. DOE says heat pumps use about 50% less electricity than resistance heat. At today's hashprice a heater miner takes about 39% off at the U.S. average price, so a heat pump still wins unless your power is cheap.
What happens in summer?
If you don't need the heat, the miner is just a miner, and at average home prices it costs more to run than it earns. Most heater miners can idle or be switched off when the room is warm.
Sources
- U.S. EIA, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A (residential sector), July 2026. Average residential electricity price by state.
- mempool.space API (difficulty, block height, fees over the last 144 blocks). Network difficulty and fees for hashprice.
- CoinGecko (BTC price in USD). Bitcoin price for hashprice.
- Hashrate Index (Luxor), hashprice cross-check. Independent hashprice figure.
- Bitaxe Gamma 601, NerdQaxe++: maker or designer specifications. Hashrate and wall power.
- Avalon Nano 3S: maker or designer specifications. Hashrate and wall power.
- Avalon Mini 3: maker or designer specifications. Hashrate and wall power.
- Heatbit Maxi, Heatbit Maxi Pro: maker or designer specifications. Hashrate and wall power.
- Avalon Q: maker or designer specifications. Hashrate and wall power.
- Antminer S19j Pro 104T: maker or designer specifications. Hashrate and wall power.
- Antminer S21 200T: maker or designer specifications. Hashrate and wall power.
- Antminer S21 Pro 234T: maker or designer specifications. Hashrate and wall power.
- U.S. DOE Energy Saver: electric resistance heating (archived copy). Resistance heat turns all the electricity it uses into heat.
- U.S. DOE: Energy Saver Guide (2022). Heat pumps use about 50% less electricity than resistance heating.
- Electrical Contractor magazine: continuous loads under the NEC (125% rule). Loads running 3 hours or more count as continuous; breaker at least 125% of the load.
- U.S. CPSC: Space heater safety warning. 3-foot clearance, wall outlet only, don't run while sleeping.
Our derived tables are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to WattCost and a link.