Why Your Bitcoin Miner PSU Choice Matters
With increasing demand for miner efficiency, we built a power supply unit to challenge the status quo and help miners choose a better PSU.
Authored by Global Sourcing Manager Young Chao.
Contrary to popular belief, a mining power supply unit (PSU) is not just a generic commodity replacement item. Choosing the right PSU could increase profits by $100/miner annually or more, depending on the cost of power and increased uptime.
Efficiency
A high-efficiency PSU will save money in the long run.
With power costs impacting miner profitability, a highly efficient power supply can create savings where a general power supply falls short. Compared to 91% efficiency with OEM manufacturers, Foundry’s Power Supply boasts 95% efficiency, saving ~$65/rig per year in power costs¹, and even more compared to third-party PSU replacements which are typically 87%-90% efficiency.
As a testament to the quality of the Foundry PSU, we’ve gone through the certification process for UL, FCC, and CE, and are pending approval for the 80 PLUS® Platinum certification. This will be the industry’s first 80 PLUS® Platinum certified PSU — a leading market standard certification with high-standard requirements for power supply units across all industries.
The charts above indicate an average of 150W savings per miner for both the k Pro and XP when using the Foundry PSU versus OEM PSUs. With these models, a Foundry PSU saves $65 a year¹ compared to the OEM PSU configuration.
Durability and Capacity for 4000 Watts
A durable PSU will lessen the need for replacement parts and increase uptime.
To help miners avoid failures from extreme ambient and higher power draw, the Foundry PSU is built with a robust, heavy-duty design, featuring smaller casing for better airflow. We ran oven stress testing at 140°F for 24 hours with no hardware errors or component failures. A separate test was run with blocked intake fans at 77°F ambient, and the PSU maintained 94% efficiency.
It’s a well-known fact that rigs draw more power as ambient temperatures increase. Foundry’s PSU is rated at 4000 Watts and can provide 14–20% more power than OEM PSUs. Combined with durability and additional headroom for power, the Foundry PSU will help you keep mining and can provide additional uptime where other PSUs would fail due to heat and excessive power draw.
What does this all mean?
Combining the added efficiency and 2% additional uptime due to units overheating in hot climates, a typical S19 XP miner may produce an additional $75-$100/year for each machine, assuming a $65K Bitcoin price.
Wide Voltage Range
A PSU that doesn’t require a stepdown transformer adds additional system efficiency.
Eliminating the need for step-down transformers, Foundry’s PSU simplifies infrastructure and increases miner capacity through electrical efficiencies. It supports a 200V-300V range while OEM PSUs support 220V-277V. Including a P13 4-pin plug that’s standard for Bitmain’s JXP, S21, and future single-phase models, Foundry’s PSU is compatible with a wide range of Bitmain units — simplifying inventory.
Flexibility for Firmware tuning
A PSU built for firmware tuning enables efficiency and hashrate optimization.
Foundry PSU is designed for firmware tuning to give miners the highest efficiency or hashrate. Compared to OEM PSUs’ output voltage of 12V-15V, Foundry’s PSU has a wider voltage capability, running as low as 10.5V for maximum efficiency and as high as 15.5 for overclocking.
Improve Efficiencies and Reduce Operating Costs
As the industry consistently faces issues such as inventory shortages, high failure rates, and a lack of trust in third-party manufacturers, choosing a multi-certified, high-quality PSU can boost cost and time savings — an essential upgrade to enhance operational efficiency and minimize downtime. Built to exceed current industry standards, the Foundry PSU brings a durable, flexible, optimizable power source to miners looking to maximize their efficiency gains.
It’s available alongside Foundry Hardware’s Immersion Optimization Kits and Control Boards. Foundry products are designed and built to help you manage, maintain, and improve your mining operations. To sign up for Foundry Hardware announcements or to get in touch with our team, visit foundrydigital.com.
¹Using $0.05/kWh power cost.
Disclaimer
The contents of this post have been provided by Foundry Digital LLC (“Foundry” or “we”) for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as giving legal, financial or any other kind of advice. Although we strive to provide quality information, we do not guarantee or warrant any particular results from the use of this information or any opinions provided. Foundry accepts no liability whatsoever for any damages, costs or any other consequences resulting from any actions taken on the basis of the information or opinions provided. Furthermore, Foundry has no control over information provided in any third-party sites linked herein, and Foundry accepts no liability whatsoever over any consequences resulting from any actions taken on the basis of that information. Foundry reserves the right to make changes to this information at any time without prior notice and makes no commitment to update the information contained in this post.
