Heatbit unveils water heater element with built-in Bitcoin miner

what happened

According to Heatbit's website, the U.S. company has introduced Bitwater, a heating element for electric water heaters with an integrated ASIC miner. The heat produced by the chips while mining Bitcoin warms the water. The device replaces the lower heating element, so the tank does not need to be swapped. It suits tanks of 30 to 80 gallons (roughly 115 to 300 liters) sold in the U.S. and Canada.

Inside are 20 BM1370 chips delivering 34 TH/s, with efficiency from 12 J/TH and maximum power draw of 600 W. By default it runs solo mining through the Heatbit pool, and the first batch costs $899. Refundable pre-orders opened on October 22.

Users on Reddit noted the high equipment cost and unclear payback period.

why it matters

For miners, the economics of such a device depend on network difficulty and the Bitcoin price, which the company says directly affect income. If difficulty rises or the price falls, returns from 34 TH/s shrink. The claim that mining will not raise electricity bills, since the energy is used for water heating anyway, comes from the manufacturer and has not been independently verified.

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