BITCOIN MINING NOISE POLLUTION IS A SOLVED PROBLEM. If someone is reading that line and has never been to an actual mining farm, they most likely picture a noisy eatery or an air-conditioned building. However, “loud” in this case refers to the nearly unbearably loud whir of fan blades spinning, creating a noise level comparable to that of a fighter jet. “Sound money” has a new meaning thanks to mining.
The sound level produced by a single Bitcoin mining machine ranges from 70 to 90 decibels (dB). The scale of decibels is logarithmic, meaning that if a machine is quite quiet and produces 75 dB, ten similar machines will make 85 dB, and one hundred machines will produce 95 dB. In contrast, the typical nightclub keeps its noise level at 98 dB, which is approximately
The noise of Bitcoin miners is commonplace, and conscientious site managers always take the required safety measures to preserve their hearing when working within a mining facility. However, the noise produced by a mining farm is not usually contained within the walls of the buildings, and mining “noise pollution” is becoming a common theme in mainstream news headlines and petitions written by environmental advocacy groups to regulators.
However, these sites frequently fail to realise that noise pollution caused by Bitcoin mining is a problem that has been resolved. Both small-scale home mining installations and large-scale industrial bitcoin farms can benefit from the various noise reduction options available to miners. This article examines how Bitcoin miners might reduce noise pollution and addresses the status quo’s concerns about mining noise.
PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT BITCOIN MINING NOISE
Critics of Bitcoin usually want to focus on crime, carbon pollution, and con artists. In the past, noise pollution is hardly ever brought up. However, more often than the typical Bitcoin investor realises, complaints over mining noise are making headlines, and these criticisms are being incorporated into petitions sent to federal regulators.
A small town in North Carolina turned against its local bitcoin miners due to noise and other mining externalities. The planning committee of a rural Ohio village received complaints from locals regarding noise levels coming from a nearby mining company. As did the people of Niagara Falls. as well as citizens of Labrador City, a nearby city, and Sherbrooke, Quebec.
A Montana county’s commissioners overwhelmingly voted to approve a resolution containing additional guidelines for present and future mining operations, including new zoning regulations for noise standards, after the area became home to bitcoin miners. Similar, quick zoning amendments about noise were implemented in a small Colorado town that was home to a mining company. After months of complaints from nearby households, a Tennessee judge decided that noise from a Bitcoin mining site violated local zoning restrictions.
Bitcoin miners are portrayed as unfriendly neighbours even when they are located outside of North America. The noise from its multiple locations caused severe criticism from the local community and caused permitting problems for a mining corporation based in Norway. The corporation was threatened with a bomb due to the noise caused by its mining operations, such was the level of enmity.
BUT BITCOIN MINING NOISE IS A SOLVED PROBLEM
Any mining operation, regardless of the number of machines online—from 10 to 10,000—can use a range of tools and techniques to reduce noise production. Before noise complaints regarding Bitcoin mining farms start to decrease, they will most likely increase. But there are other ways to solve this specific issue. These are a handful:
One of the easiest ways to deal with noise is to change the location. Move to more isolated locations if at all possible. For instance, Bitfarms declared its intention to choose more secluded areas for new sites following noise concerns from nearby neighbours over some of its mining sites. Additionally, the publicly traded mining business in Canada installed state-of-the-art sound monitoring equipment that automatically lowers sound levels based on operational changes.
However, some Bitcoin mining companies have chosen to address their noise using slightly less sophisticated methods. For example, an off-grid, natural gas-powered mining facility built rows of hay bales . Behind its on-site mining facilities to block out surrounding households’ noise. The options for substitute equipment and materials for noise reduction are almost limitless for mining sites without convenient access to hay bales. These include soundproof tiles, several types of acoustic barriers, prefabricated noise-dampening enclosures, noise insulation foam, and more.
Even with a small number of machines, home miners may be bothered. Their nearest neighbours with mining noise, depending on how the setup is designed. Tools like Upstream Data’s Black Box are crucial in these circumstances. The noise level of a machine is decreased in half by this weather- and fire-resistant casing.
For the advantage of their customers, a few bitcoin mining businesses . That concentrate on retail are also disseminating manuals and instructional materials on noise reduction. For instance, the top hardware resale marketplace for Bitcoin,
IT’S NOT JUST A BITCOIN PROBLEM
The mining of Bitcoin is loud. However, noise problems are not limited to mining farms as a form of computing infrastructure facilities. Conventional data centres also have an inherent problem with noise pollution. Additionally, most data centres typically have noise levels of 90 dB or higher, much like a bitcoin mine.
A few years ago, Bianca Bosker, a writer for. The Atlantic discussed why data centres are rarely ideal neighbours on a tech podcast. Bitcoin was not brought up in the conversation, but it could have been. The title of the programme, “Your ‘Cloud’ Data Is Making Noise On The Ground,” was quite clever. On the ground, magic internet money also creates a lot of commotion.
The noise level of data centres also makes news. According to an Arizona Republic report, Chandler, Arizona residents complained to the local police. The constant noise emanating from a data centre close to their neighbourhood. According to ABC News, Chicago neighbours reportedly complained about it. The unbearable noise emanating from a nearby data centre to everyone . They could think of, including their building managers, the mayor’s office, and the Department of Health.
It should come as no surprise that conventional data centres employ some of them. The noise reduction strategies used by Bitcoin miners. For instance, liquid cooling provides almost silent operation for Bitcoin mining and data centres alike. Other data centres reduce noise levels by installing sound-deadening acoustic tiles on their walls.
BITCOIN MINERS CAN SPIKE THE NOISE NARRATIVE
Although mining Bitcoin produces a lot of noise, it is fairly managed. And the noise completely disappears from facilities that use immersion cooling. It remains to be seen how seriously authorities such as the U.S. EPA will take public concerns regarding noise pollution from mining, but . The amount of news stories about mining noise appears to be increasing rather than decreasing.
By putting into practice one or more of them. The several simple fixes for improved noise management, miners may stop this narrative before it gets out of hand. Mining operators should handle bitcoin mining noise as a solved problem.
Zack Voell has written a guest post here. The views stated are solely their own and may not represent those of Bitcoin Magazine or BTC Inc.
