Cryptocurrency Mining Powered by Solar Energy Using a DC-DC Connection with IoT Control

Cryptocurrency mining is energy-intensive and large operations could put pressure on an already failing national grid in South Africa. This is relevant since cryptocurrency is gaining adoption and is increasingly being used and relied upon. Cryptocurrency is also an investment vehicle, and many use cases for blockchain technology have been and are being developed. Cryptocurrency mining is the process of providing computational power to a decentralized blockchain network and being rewarded in the network's native coin (token) for providing the work to the network. Crypto currency mining machines convert AC mains to DC via a power supply. In terms of solar applications, there would be two conversions: DC-AC then AC-DC. The objective of the DC-DC connection is to reduce losses by directly powering crypto mining rigs straight from solar. The prototype stepped-down incoming voltage to 12V, 5V and 3.3V that a mining machine requires. In our previous research, design, and prototype, it was shown that a direct DC-DC connection between solar panels and a GPU cryptocurrency mining rig could be feasible [1]. The prototype, set up in a Horizontal-North-South (HNS) structure, measurement instruments and methods of control need to be added to allow maximum solar production as well as increased mining profitability. Therefore, this paper presents a method to add an Arduino for Internet-of- Things (IoT) measurement and control and simulate these items in Proteus 8 respectively in addition to the prototype of the Arduino measurement and control. The results of the simulations showed that the Arduino was able to successfully take analog input voltages and use code on the microcontroller to digitally convert and display the measurement values of the system via the Virtual Terminal (VT). This was further reinforced by the fact that the Arduino prototype was successful in correctly measuring the voltages and current in the system. The servo motor addition will greatly increase the amount of Max power achieved in a day for the solar panel.