Project Solar Mining
1] Overview
Project Solar Mining introduces a smart, self-regulating mining pool that enables households to mine Bitcoin using excess solar power.
This self-regulating mining pool dynamically manages a Bitcoin mining pool (up to 3 miners) to optimize energy usage based on excess solar power being returned to the grid.
It ensures miners only run when there’s sufficient excess power, preventing unnecessary grid draw, while incorporating hysteresis to avoid frequent on/off cycles that could stress hardware.
1.1] How It Works
1.1.1] Trigger
The automation runs every 15 minutes.
This interval allows for regular checks without overwhelming the system.
1.1.2] Setup Excess Power Variable
It sets a variable [Excess Solar Power Remaining] to the current excess solar power.
This represents the current excess solar power budget available for miners.
As miners are activated, this value is reduced to reflect remaining capacity.
1.1.3] Regulating Each Miner
The automation handles each miner sequentially (Miner 1, then 2, then 3) using identical logic.
Activation Check (with Hysteresis)
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Skips if the miner is out of circuit
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Activates if:
- Requirements are overridden, OR
- [Excess Solar Power Remaining] meets or exceeds the miner’s power need, AND:
- The miner is already on, OR
- The miner’s specific excess solar power need condition has been true for at least 15 minutes
-
If conditions are met and the miner is off:
- Restarts the miner
- Sets the miner’s state to “on”
- If requirements are not overridden, subtracts the miner’s power need from the remaining excess solar power variable (to allocate it for this miner)
Shutdown Check (with Hysteresis)
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If activation conditions aren’t met, checks for shutdown:
- Miner is out of circuit, OR
- Shutdown threshold has been true for at least 7 minutes (e.g., low excess solar power)
-
If shutdown is triggered and the miner is running:
- Shuts down miner
- Sets the state to “off”
1.2] Expected Behavior
When Excess Solar is High
Miners start in order (1 → 2 → 3) if conditions hold for 15 minutes. They run until excess drops.
When Excess Solar Drops
Miners shut down in reverse order (implicitly, as checks are sequential) after 7 minutes of insufficient power.
Manual Control
“Out Of Circuit” disables a miner entirely.
Use “Requirements Override” to force a miner on, regardless of power.
2] Prerequisites
Knowledge of each of these prerequisites is required and is not covered in this project.
- Home Assistant (> v2026.2.1) with Zigbee setup
- Home Assistant integration “Meteorologisk institutt (Met.no)”
- HACS integration “Mushroom”
- Grid return sensor in Watt setup in Home Assistant (Used to evaluate excess solar power)
- Zigbee smart plug (e.g., Innr SP 240) setup in Home Assistant
- Powerstrip
- 3 NerdQAxe++ (> v1.0.36) miners (This project limits to 3 miners, but expansion is straightforward)
