<p>According to the EIA:
<a href="http://www.eia.gov/emeu/international/elecprih.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.eia.gov/emeu/international/elecprih.html</a></p>

<p>The cheapest electricity prices from their available data would be Kazakhstan at .052USD/kWh.</p>

<p>Although electricity cost itself would not be the only determining factor of profitability, it would be a major part.</p>

<p>Currently FPGA's seem to be the answer for best performance/kWh.  Some other factors to think about would be(not 100% inclusive of all the factors):</p>

<ol>
<li>Difficulty in sourcing equipment to the country of choice.</li>
<li>Governmental taxes</li>
<li>Employee Cost</li>
<li>Weather Conditions(HVAC)</li>
<li>Government stability (Politics in General)</li>
<li>Ability of the power distribution network to handle your load.</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-11T15:56:59.363Z
2011-09-11T15:56:59.363Z
Justin Weeks
<p>I would say any place electric heating is in use. Computers are just as efficient at heating as electric heaters are, so the Bitcoins are effectively mined for free, as far as the cost of electricity and cooling goes, the two biggest costs. (You still have the cost, and depreciation, of hardware, of course.)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-11T20:03:32.063Z
@Lohoris What do you think a computer produces if not heat?
Jan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-11T21:01:13.600Z
The Watts of heat emitted by a computer just *feel* less hot than the same number of Watts emitted by a heater ;-)
Neil Bartlett
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-16T04:58:34.667Z
@Lohoris please tell me you were kidding.  It is impossible for a computer to not produce the same amount of heat as any other resistive load.
DeathAndTaxes
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-09-28T14:53:45.510Z
This is only true if you use electric heaters. This assumes that mining is the most efficient way to heat a home. This answer may not be correct for 2 reasons: 1) How do you efficiently use the heat? 2) Electricity in not necessarily the most efficient source of heat energy. In some places, a gas heater is 10 times as cost effective as an electric heater.
B Seven
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-11T18:58:59.150Z
2011-09-11T18:58:59.150Z
David Schwartz
<p>This is a question for Bitcoin miners. High cost of electricity can really cut down on the profitability of Bitcoin mining. I want to know what geographic location has the cheapest electricity and thus most profitable Bitcoin mining in the world?</p>



CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-11T16:18:22.697Z
vote to close -- close to off topic and answerable with a single web search
lemonginger
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-11T21:54:15.780Z
Or the question could be refined to what factors should be considered when determining a geographic location when concerned with the profitability of mining.
Justin Weeks
<mining-profitability><energy-consumption>
Where in the world is bitcoin mining the most profitiable?
Thomas Van Riper
# Where in the world is bitcoin mining the most profitiable?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2011-09-11)

This is a question for Bitcoin miners. High cost of electricity can really cut down on the profitability of Bitcoin mining. I want to know what geographic location has the cheapest electricity and thus most profitable Bitcoin mining in the world?

**Tags:** mining-profitability, energy-consumption

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: vote to close -- close to off topic and answerable with a single web search  
> **username_2**: Or the question could be refined to what factors should be considered when determining a geographic location when concerned with the profitability of mining.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2011-09-11. Score: 8

According to the EIA:
<http://www.eia.gov/emeu/international/elecprih.html>

The cheapest electricity prices from their available data would be Kazakhstan at .052USD/kWh.

Although electricity cost itself would not be the only determining factor of profitability, it would be a major part.

Currently FPGA's seem to be the answer for best performance/kWh. Some other factors to think about would be(not 100% inclusive of all the factors):

1. Difficulty in sourcing equipment to the country of choice.
2. Governmental taxes
3. Employee Cost
4. Weather Conditions(HVAC)
5. Government stability (Politics in General)
6. Ability of the power distribution network to handle your load.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2011-09-11. Score: 6

I would say any place electric heating is in use. Computers are just as efficient at heating as electric heaters are, so the Bitcoins are effectively mined for free, as far as the cost of electricity and cooling goes, the two biggest costs. (You still have the cost, and depreciation, of hardware, of course.)

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: @Lohoris What do you think a computer produces if not heat?  
> **username_5**: The Watts of heat emitted by a computer just *feel* less hot than the same number of Watts emitted by a heater ;-)  
> **username_6**: @Lohoris please tell me you were kidding.  It is impossible for a computer to not produce the same amount of heat as any other resistive load.  
> **username_7**: This is only true if you use electric heaters. This assumes that mining is the most efficient way to heat a home. This answer may not be correct for 2 reasons: 1) How do you efficiently use the heat? 2) Electricity in not necessarily the most efficient source of heat energy. In some places, a gas heater is 10 times as cost effective as an electric heater.  

---

