Qarnot Unveils Their QC-1 Crypto Heater

[Chino]

French company Qarnot has unveiled their QC-1 crypto heater, which is an extension of their Q.rad computing heater that was released in 2013. The new QC-1 allows consumers to mine cryptocurrencies and utilize the generated heat for heating their homes. It features a high-end passive cooling solution and noiseless design as the unit doesn't require the use of fans or mechanical hard drives. A pair of Sapphire NITRO+ Radeon RX 580 graphics cards are responsible for the cryptomining duties. Together, they can generate a hash rate around 60MH/s. In normal mode, the QC-1 produces 450W of heat. However, customers can activate the booster mode via the provided mobile app for another 200W which brings the total to 650W. The mobile app also serves as a tool for QC-1 owners to monitor the crypto markets.

According to the manufacturer, the QC-1 is capable of heating a 20 square-meter room. Qarnot is marketing their crypto heater as a plug-n-play device which customers can setup in 10 minutes. Installation consists of plugging the unit into the wall outlet and router and entering the crypto-wallet address into the mobile app. The QC-1 is designed to mine Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. The Qarnot QC-1 comes with a 1 year warranty. The unit currently costs 2900 euros which by today's exchange rate is $3575 plus another $300 shipping fee. If you order a QC-1 before March 20th, Qarnot will deliver the QC-1 to your doorstep before June 20th.

Technical Specifications

• Computing: 2 x NITRO+ RADEON RX 580 8G, 60 MH/s
• Dimensions: 65×62.5×15 cm
• Power: 650W in total, 450W in mining mode + 200 in booster mode
• Weight: 27 kg
• Materials: Wood, Anodized aluminium
• Noise: 0 dB
• Connections: 110/230V AC, RJ45 Ethernet
• Interfaces: Capacitive touch, Mobile app, Web app
• Communication: Ethernet
• Github: Temperature and LED management

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Vya Domus]

This is hilarious.

 

[Vayra86]

ROI: non-existant

 

[natr0n]

"It's cold as hell in here... Honey mine everything."

 

[silentbogo]

LOL. I thought their CPU miner was hilarious, but this... Near $4000 w/ shipping maybe can get your money back by mid-century or something.

 

[trog100]

at current mining returns it would produce between 3 and 4 dollars per day.. about the same as my desktop machine.. do the math..

there are cheaper ways to heat an office..

trog

 

[kastriot]

Hahaaahhhaahhahahahah what a stupid s h i t!

 

[nemesis.ie]

Well per the app photo they seem to think ETH should be at $8,500. At that rate you would have a pretty quick RoI.

You also have to offset the running costs against the reduced heating costs. It would be useful if they posted an RoI graph though. I wonder what price the coins will be in June/July when one might get delivery and when you might not actually want it running for the heating ...

If it has video output, you could also use it for gaming during the summer.

Oh and how much do those passive cooling cases normally go for? Is this worse than those? There is a lot to be said for a 0db PC even if one doesn't mine/heat with it.

 

[ironwolf]

404: ROI not found

 

[Supercrit]

At least use a pair of 390 for a much higher heat output....

 

[INSTG8R]

Genuinely a neat idea but...

 

[R-T-B]

Genuinely a neat idea but...

It's a good idea but their price is way off target.

If they really believed in it, they'd be paying to install it in your home for free. They aren't. Something is fishy me thinks...

 

[INSTG8R]

It's a good idea but their price is way off target.

If they really believed in it, they'd be paying to install it in your home for free. They aren't. Something is fishy me thinks...

Exactly. It’s a clever use of the heat generated but way off on the pricing, making it just a neat idea.

 

[R-T-B]

Exactly. It’s a clever use of the heat generated but way off on the pricing, making it just a neat idea.

Well it could turn into something good if a better competitor comes out. Being a pioneer can be expensive... I hear the Wright Brothers aren't making airplanes anymore, either.

 

[yotano211]

I can just go to home depot and buy a 1000w heater for $80.

 

[R-T-B]

I can just go to home depot and buy a 1000w heater for $80.

What's the ROI on that heater?

I know, the price on this product IS insane, but you did kind of glance over the benefits, too.

 

[yotano211]

What's the ROI on that heater?

I know, the price on this product IS insane, but you did kind of glance over the benefits, too.

The ROI is not being cold.
It does have benefits but 450w or 650w is not very much heat to warm a space.

 

[techy1]

obviously price is the killer. but the idea is cool (or warm). I like how miners waste mining heat and are ready to buy 80$ regular heater to heat their home, these kind of people could even cool (with AC) their mining room and heat livingroom at the same time and be like: "what!? mind your own business hippie!"

 

[Valantar]

Being from the country in the world that uses the most electric heating per capita (Norway), I can state clearly that this is a seriously dumb idea. Why? Because it would be both a bad heater and a bad miner. Let me explain:

As a heater, this is virtually useless. The general guideline for heating in Norway is 1000W per 10m2 of space, meaning this thing is specced for ... a large closet or tiny guest bedroom or something. For a normal-sized living room, you'd need a serious crapton of these. The living room in my small apartment is around 25m2, meaning I'd need five of these just to get by. With less, I wouldn't be able to maintain normal room temperature, or heat up a cold room in a timely manner.

As a miner, the "this is a heater" aspect is also quite a bad fit. Heaters are thermostat-controlled, and have to be unless you love wildly fluctuating room temperatures and opening windows constantly to let the heat out. Having a thermostat would mean that it would spend the vast majority of time idle, not mining. I suppose they could cobble together some clever "temperature maintenance mode" that keeps mining at reduced power, but that would still mean drastically reduced mining throughput.

In a way, these two counteract each other. If you make the heater weak enough to barely maintain room temp, you can keep it running constantly! Sadly, that's not quite applicable in real life. If it runs at full bore barely maintaining a comfortable ambient temperature, it would never be able to heat up a cold room. Say you need to open a window for some reason in winter - it might take hours for the room to heat back up. That's not acceptable.

Then, of course, there's the idiotic price. I was expecting this to be something you'd rent or lease (you get cheap/free heaters, they get free electricity for their mining rigs), but they expect you to buy this that that kind of price? Of course, designer furniture is well known to have sky-high prices, but I seriously doubt this qualifies. Not to mention that no-one is interested in buying a space heater with a usable lifespan of 2-3 years.

 

[Toothless]

Could just buy some old rig off of fleabay and stick some gtx480s in it. F@H and heat your house.

 

[john_]

A nice, accurate, IQ test for the buyer.

 

[Vya Domus]

Isn't the heat coming out of any PC like , you know , the same ?

 

[ensabrenoir]

.....had to check my calendar...nope......ain't April yet...... so who green lighted the funding for this project and what board went like yeah....... what a great idea.......

 

[R-T-B]

Being from the country in the world that uses the most electric heating per capita (Norway), I can state clearly that this is a seriously dumb idea. Why? Because it would be both a bad heater and a bad miner. Let me explain:

As a heater, this is virtually useless. The general guideline for heating in Norway is 1000W per 10m2 of space, meaning this thing is specced for ... a large closet or tiny guest bedroom or something. For a normal-sized living room, you'd need a serious crapton of these. The living room in my small apartment is around 25m2, meaning I'd need five of these just to get by. With less, I wouldn't be able to maintain normal room temperature, or heat up a cold room in a timely manner.

As a miner, the "this is a heater" aspect is also quite a bad fit. Heaters are thermostat-controlled, and have to be unless you love wildly fluctuating room temperatures and opening windows constantly to let the heat out. Having a thermostat would mean that it would spend the vast majority of time idle, not mining. I suppose they could cobble together some clever "temperature maintenance mode" that keeps mining at reduced power, but that would still mean drastically reduced mining throughput.

In a way, these two counteract each other. If you make the heater weak enough to barely maintain room temp, you can keep it running constantly! Sadly, that's not quite applicable in real life. If it runs at full bore barely maintaining a comfortable ambient temperature, it would never be able to heat up a cold room. Say you need to open a window for some reason in winter - it might take hours for the room to heat back up. That's not acceptable.

Then, of course, there's the idiotic price. I was expecting this to be something you'd rent or lease (you get cheap/free heaters, they get free electricity for their mining rigs), but they expect you to buy this that that kind of price? Of course, designer furniture is well known to have sky-high prices, but I seriously doubt this qualifies. Not to mention that no-one is interested in buying a space heater with a usable lifespan of 2-3 years.

The specsheet quotes "temp management" which probably in this context means a thermostat.

Otherwise, excellent points.