Separate three money questions
Mining revenue is the value of rewards before your expenses. Operating result is revenue minus ongoing costs. Recovering the initial equipment and installation purchase is another question. Keeping these separate prevents a positive daily revenue figure from being mistaken for a successful investment.
Start with actual power consumption at the wall where suitable measurement is available. Energy in kilowatt-hours equals power in kilowatts multiplied by operating hours. For a simple illustration, a constant 1 kW load running for 24 hours uses 24 kWh. Multiply energy by the applicable tariff, then add relevant fixed or other charges. This example explains units; it is not a miner specification or earnings estimate.
Include the costs that disappear from adverts
List cooling, pool and firmware fees where applicable, internet, hosting, maintenance, replacement parts, shipping, and any relevant local charges. Add equipment and installation as upfront costs. Avoid counting a bundled hosting service twice, but do not assume a quoted energy price covers everything. Record where each number came from and when it was checked.
Model downtime explicitly. A machine can lose mining time while some bills continue. Also consider how much time you will spend supervising and solving problems. Expected resale value is uncertain, so show it separately instead of using it to hide a large purchase cost.
Test the assumptions
Create a base case and less favourable cases with lower reward value, higher energy costs, or reduced operating time. Network difficulty, transaction fees, coin price, and equipment performance can change. A calculator only evaluates the inputs you give it; it cannot promise future conditions. If a projected operating result is negative, there is no meaningful positive payback time under that scenario.
- Date every model and keep units and currencies consistent.
- Compare projected results with actual invoices and pool payments.
- Decide in advance which cost or performance changes trigger a review.