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dirschau t1_izzsse3 wrote

"History doesn't repeat but it sure does rhyme"

The Dutch: hold my beer

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billhaigh t1_j0089zz wrote

"Tulipmania" sounds like a Dutch band name. :-)

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sndtrb89 t1_j00ad0k wrote

1637 called, it wants its volatile commodity back

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OracleDude33 t1_izzvt9d wrote

this is a zero sum game, the computers are solar powered & the heat given off by them keeps the greenhouse warm. Would be more efficient to remove the computers and use the solar electric to heat the greenhouse directly. Do the math! God, some people are so dumb.

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beardedbrawler t1_j004ma4 wrote

Yeah couldn't they just plug in efficient space heaters? Wtf?

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jujubanzen t1_j0081bk wrote

There's no such thing as an efficient space heater. They are all the same efficiency: 100%, because all the energy goes to it's intended use, which is heat.

In Bitcoin mining, generating heat is an inefficiency. Computers generate heat as a waste product, so in effect them using the waste heat from Bitcoin mining to heat their greenhouses makes the computers into the more efficient space heaters.

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10ebbor10 t1_j0178o5 wrote

>There's no such thing as an efficient space heater. They are all the same efficiency: 100%, because all the energy goes to it's intended use, which is heat.

That's not true. Or at least, it's only true for resistive heaters.

Electric power can also be used to drive heat pumpts, which can turn 1 electricity into 3-5 units of heat (depending on the outside temperature).

Stealing heat from the outside is more efficient than creating it.

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Zwets t1_j0139xl wrote

Partially I suspect the increased Dutch gas heating prices have caused the price of "warmtepompen" (electrical hot air machines that pull in outside air) to increase dramatically. As businesses faced with massive gas bills rush to buy every available one.

Buying and installing a warmtepomp at 3 times or more the market price might return that investment in 5 years, but gas prices are already going down, so that might not be worth it (even though you should invest in one anyway for environmental reasons). Buying a mining rig that has sharply dropped in value recently and changing how the fans on it work, is probably cheaper than buying one of the hot air units right now.

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Koakie t1_j0160hs wrote

Computer chips turn 99% of the electricity into heat.

A space heater does 100%. But a space heater doesnt deposit bitcoin into your blockchain wallet.

There is not that much efficiency to gain.

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DrakBalek t1_izzsbui wrote

Brilliant.

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[deleted] t1_j015npo wrote

[removed]

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Bumm_by_Design t1_izztamh wrote

This just came in the news: Bitcoin mining is now good for the environment.

Take my wallet and my bank account. How can I transfer my retirement?

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insideoutcognito t1_j00iauh wrote

Surely mining bitcoin is not an efficient heating mechanism.

Probably good at attracting investors though.

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10ebbor10 t1_j017ymu wrote

The reason it "works" is that the farmers using this had long term, fixed electricity contracts.

So they can mine bitcoin using the cheap (relatively) pre-gas crisis prices.

But yeah, in practice it's a massive waste of energy and natural gas. Because the Netherlands generates about 60% of it's electricity from gas (and another 15% from coal), with renewables, nuclear and biomass making up the rest.

So what happens is that instead of using 1 unit of gas to provide 1 unit of heat, now you use 2 units of gas to provide 1 unit of electricity which gets turned into 1 unit of heat. This strategy is increasing fossil fuel consumption, and it only works because the cost of extra consumption falls upon the power provider, not the farmer.

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willstr1 t1_j028kyl wrote

Capital wise probably not that efficient. Energy wise it's the same as resistive heat, all electrics are 100% efficient when it comes to heating. However if you were actually looking for energy efficiency a heat pump is the better solution because they actually get beyond 100% efficiency due to how they can take heat from outside and put it inside (even when outside is colder than inside).

Also if you aren't on a green grid direct combustion is more efficient than resistive heat because of power generation inefficiency, but heat pumps can often still come out ahead

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sg3niner t1_j00l1at wrote

All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again.

So say we all.

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[deleted] t1_j015pg3 wrote

[removed]

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fredsam25 t1_j01wuay wrote

Tulip madness come full circle.

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Uissynn t1_j0211xb wrote

Literally, the Tulip mania :)

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Ulahdar t1_j021g6z wrote

Im glad i didnt stake 32 eth

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Dasecret12 t1_j037n1t wrote

Netherlands is known all over the world for its tulips.

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Affectionate_Emu_675 t1_j00ugqf wrote

have to wonder though about potential contamination of the greenhouse and its plants with polychlorinated biphenyl build up from all the air going through the machines constantly picking up and transporting these organic vapors into the area. Only fix would be to put organic vapor filters over the vent(s) that bring in the warm air.

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