Bitcoin Cash mining electricity cost equals power draw in kilowatts × operating hours × electricity price per kWh. At 3,645 W and $0.05/kWh, an Antminer S21 XP running for 24 hours uses 87.48 kWh and costs about $4.37 in electricity, excluding additional facility loads.

Why Electricity Cost Is Not the Same as Mining Cost

Electricity is the single largest recurring operating expense in SHA-256 mining, but it is only one component of total mining cost. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) uses the same SHA-256 proof-of-work algorithm as Bitcoin, so BCH miners run the same class of ASIC hardware and face the same physical relationship between hashrate, power draw, and energy use. However, electricity cost, hosting or facility charges, pool fees, and mining profitability are distinct figures with different inputs. Conflating them produces misleading break-even estimates. This article isolates the electricity-cost calculation, shows how it interacts with BCH network conditions, and explains where it fits inside a broader profitability analysis.

The Basic Electricity-Cost Formula

Electricity cost for any ASIC miner is calculated from three inputs: power draw, operating hours, and the applicable electricity price.

Electricity cost ($) = (Power in watts ÷ 1,000) × operating hours × electricity price ($/kWh)

This formula assumes a constant power draw and electricity price over the operating period. For continuous daily operation, use 24 hours. If power draw or electricity prices vary, calculate the cost for each operating interval and add the results. Demand charges and other non-kWh charges must be calculated separately, or included in an effective electricity price derived by dividing the relevant electricity charges by consumption over the same billing period. Do not add those charges again if they are already included in the effective price.

This formula measures the cost of the power figure used as input. If the manufacturer's wall-power specification is used, the result reflects the ASIC's own electricity draw at the wall outlet. It does not automatically include cooling systems, transformers, facility fans, or other site-level loads unless those are separately added or already captured by a whole-facility meter reading.

Worked Example: Bitmain Antminer S21 XP

Bitmain specifies the Antminer S21 XP at a typical hashrate of 270 TH/s, a typical wall power draw of 3,645 W, and a typical efficiency of 13.5 J/TH, measured at 25°C inlet air. Bitmain also states that actual hashrate can vary by approximately ±3%, while wall power and efficiency can vary by approximately ±5% (Bitmain, S21 XP Specifications).

Using the 3,645 W typical figure at continuous operation:

Daily electricity use = 3.645 kW × 24 hours = 87.48 kWh/day

Applying this figure across three illustrative electricity prices:

The $0.05/kWh row is a sensitivity-analysis scenario, not a market benchmark. The other two rows correspond to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's preliminary 2025 annual average retail electricity prices for industrial customers (8.62¢/kWh) and residential customers (17.30¢/kWh) (EIA, Electricity Prices and Factors Affecting Prices). These national averages illustrate how customer class affects retail pricing; they are contextual references, not the electricity rate available to any specific mining site. Actual site costs depend on the negotiated industrial tariff, demand charges, delivery charges, applicable taxes, or hosting agreement terms, which can differ materially from a national average.

Deriving Power Draw from Efficiency and Hashrate

When a manufacturer provides efficiency in joules per terahash (J/TH) rather than a direct wattage figure, power can be derived as follows:

Power (W) = Efficiency (J/TH) × Hashrate (TH/s)

Because one joule per second is equivalent to one watt, the units resolve correctly: (J/TH) × (TH/s) = J/s = W. For the S21 XP, 13.5 J/TH × 270 TH/s = 3,645 W, consistent with Bitmain's stated wall-power specification. This calculation is only valid when efficiency and hashrate are measured on the same basis — using efficiency based on wall power and the corresponding hashrate under the same operating mode and test conditions. Combining a manufacturer's wall-power efficiency with a pool-estimated hashrate, for example, produces a figure that does not correspond to any single measured quantity.

BCH Network Conditions and Expected Mining Proceeds

Electricity cost is calculated independently of network conditions, but a complete cost-versus-revenue comparison requires understanding how BCH mining proceeds are estimated. BCH targets a 10-minute average block interval and adjusts its proof-of-work target using the ASERT algorithm, which recalculates on a per-block basis with a mainnet half-life of 172,800 seconds (two days) (Bitcoin Cash ASERT specification). Unlike Bitcoin's roughly two-week adjustment cycle, BCH updates the target for each block. Revenue projections should therefore allow for changes in difficulty rather than hold a single reading fixed over the long term.

A standard expected-value formula for daily mining proceeds is:

Expected BCH/day = (H × 86,400) ÷ (D × 2^32) × (S + F)

Where H is miner hashrate in hashes per second, D is the current BCH network difficulty, 2^32 is the conventional difficulty-1 work factor, S is the block subsidy in BCH, and F is the average transaction fee per block over the selected measurement window. The current BCH block subsidy is 3.125 BCH per block, following the halving at block height 840,000 in April 2024; transaction fees are a separate, variable component that should not be assumed to be zero or constant. This formula produces an expected value based on the inputs at a specific point in time — it is not a guarantee of daily output, and difficulty, fees, and BCH price should all be stated with their observation time when used in a calculation.

Keeping Revenue, Electricity Cost, and Profit Separate

A sound cost analysis avoids collapsing distinct figures into a single number. Three separate calculations should be kept apart:

Gross mining revenue (USD) = Expected BCH mined × BCH price (USD/BCH)

Operating result before non-power costs = Net pool proceeds (USD) − Electricity cost (USD)

A more complete operating result then subtracts hosting or facility charges not already reflected in the electricity bill, maintenance, labor, and other fixed or variable costs. Each cost should be counted once: if net pool proceeds already reflect the pool's fee deduction and any rejected-share effect, those items should not be subtracted again separately.

Where a miner has an estimated net revenue figure before electricity, a useful reference point is the electricity-only break-even price:

Break-even electricity price ($/kWh) = Daily net revenue before electricity ÷ Daily electricity use (kWh)

This result identifies the electricity price at which power costs alone would consume all remaining revenue. It excludes any cost not included in the numerator and should not be presented as a complete business break-even point.

Pool Accounting Does Not Change Electricity Use

How a mining pool calculates and settles rewards affects the timing and variability of a miner's proceeds, but it has no effect on the ASIC's power consumption. ViaBTC's BCH pool documentation describes two available payment methods: PPS+ and PPLNS. Under the published PPS+ description, the block-reward component is settled using a PPS-style calculation, while the transaction-fee component is settled using a PPLNS-style calculation; under PPLNS, both components depend on the pool's actual block-finding results over the relevant share window (ViaBTC, How Are Profits Calculated?). Readers evaluating a payout method should treat this as a factor affecting revenue variance and settlement timing, not as an input to the electricity-cost formula. Connection details and supported payment methods for BCH mining are documented on ViaBTC's BCH mining pool page.

Practical Considerations for a BCH Electricity-Cost Estimate

When applying the formulas above, match the power figure to the intended scope: a manufacturer's typical wall-power specification measures the ASIC alone, not total facility consumption including cooling infrastructure. Use actual operating hours and account for changes in power draw or time-of-use electricity prices. For a billed-cost estimate, use the site's tariff structure or an effective electricity price calculated from charges and consumption over the same billing period. If a hosting quote includes non-electricity services, identify those components where possible; otherwise, label the result as a bundled hosting cost rather than electricity alone.

For a cost-versus-revenue comparison, use BCH network difficulty and price observations from the same approximate time window. Update these inputs or test alternative scenarios when extending the estimate over a longer period.

FAQ

Does a higher-efficiency ASIC always mean lower electricity cost per unit of hashrate?

A lower J/TH figure means less power is required to produce a given hashrate, which reduces electricity cost for the same output level. However, actual savings depend on the electricity price applied and on whether the miner's efficiency figure is a manufacturer-typical value or a measured value under different conditions, so it should not be treated as a fixed cost-reduction percentage.

Can I calculate BCH mining profitability using only electricity cost?

No. Electricity cost is one operating expense. A profitability estimate also requires expected BCH proceeds based on current network difficulty and fees, the BCH price, the pool fee structure, and any hosting, maintenance, or other costs not included in the electricity figure.

Why does BCH difficulty change so frequently compared to Bitcoin?

BCH uses the ASERT difficulty adjustment algorithm, which recalculates the proof-of-work target on every block using an exponential moving average with a two-day mainnet half-life, rather than adjusting every 2,016 blocks as Bitcoin does. The two-day half-life is an algorithm parameter, not a two-day interval between adjustments.

Is a national average electricity price a good input for a mining calculation?

A national or regional average, such as EIA's industrial or residential annual averages, is useful context, but it does not represent a specific site's contract, load profile, or billing structure. EIA calculates average retail prices by dividing retail electricity revenue by electricity sales, including the costs of generation, transmission, distribution, taxes, and fees. Use the site's own tariff or an effective electricity price calculated from its bill for a site-specific estimate (EIA, Electricity Sales and Price Data).

References

• Bitmain, Antminer S21 XP Specifications
• U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electricity Prices and Factors Affecting Electricity Prices
• U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electricity Sales and Price Data
• Bitcoin Cash Node, ASERT Difficulty Adjustment Specification
• ViaBTC Help Center, How Are Profits Calculated?
• ViaBTC Help Center, BCH Mining