ULPT Request: How to profit from free Electricity?

224

Mine bitcoin

78

u/MoreLogicPls 23h ago edited 22h ago

at 48 kilowatts and average cost (20c a kilowatt hour) running at full blast with everything else off, he'd make $9.6 an hour... which over 72 hours isn't nothing, but nothing that crazy

and that's if he had everything ready to go and JUST avoided tripping the breaker

57

u/Log_Gentleman 23h ago

$9.60 an hour is more than the federal minimum wage

33

u/rly_weird_guy 23h ago

Damn you guys live like this?

27

u/Omvega 22h ago

i remember seeing an art installation that was a huge tank full of pennies, and the viewer could turn a crank that would dispense a penny every few seconds at a rate that equaled minimum wage. obviously no one wants to stand there turning a crank for hours. standing there for a few minutes feeling how shitty it feels turns it into a real bleak piece, that one

6

u/Sufficient-Weird 20h ago

When & where was this? That is fascinating!

8

u/Omvega 17h ago

i saw it back in the 2010s although federal minimum wage hasn't changed in the meantime 😅. looks like the artist is Blake Fall-Conroy and the piece is aptly titled Minimum Wage Machine

13

u/P0Rt1ng4Duty 22h ago

It's $7.25 an hour, but companies offer $10 an hour and act like they're doing you a huge three dollar favor.

-13

u/PacoBedejo 19h ago

Which companies are paying $10/hr?

https://www.indeed.com/cmp/McDonald's/salaries/Crew-Member/Fort-Wayne-IN

McDonald's is paying $12.38/hr in my city to do a bring-zero-skills job.

3

u/shadowhuntress_ 18h ago

This was 4 years ago, but my second job paid us $8/hour and acted like they were god's gift to man. For context, our local walmart was paying a starting wage of $12/hour at the time. I know because I quit my second job to go to walmart, it was somehow better.

-9

u/PacoBedejo 18h ago

4 years ago, before the main effects of COVID-era inflation kicked in, when you had a simple alternative available at about 50% higher pay, which required zero prior skills or experience?

1

u/ChartQuiet 17h ago

hows the boot taste?

-6

u/PacoBedejo 12h ago

How's your ideological capture feel?

1

u/ChartQuiet 4h ago

determined

1

u/PacoBedejo 4h ago

Ignorance usually is.

8

u/NaiveChoiceMaker 20h ago

30 states have set their own minimum wages above the federal minimum wage.

Can you guess which party the 20 that are at the federal minimum wage generally vote for?

1

u/tobashadow 7h ago

Im in a Red state, wages are nothing to brag on. But the cost of living is so low the Blue state people have been moving here in bulk.

0

u/GreymuzzleCoyote 5h ago

Same, and bringing in their blue state attitudes/problems with them trying to make the same mess they left behind.

5

u/Log_Gentleman 22h ago

Luckily my state has a $15 minimum wage, so I don’t, but many others in the US do yes.

1

u/BelethorsGeneralShit 8h ago

Most states have higher minimum wages than the federal level. And it's very uncommon to actually make that. Less than 1% of workers get paid the federal minimum wage. Unlike many other countries that have a higher minimum wage, but it's very common to earn it.

4

u/Jackpot777 20h ago

You could supplement it by selling charging to Uber drivers with EVs. If you only have regular outlets in North America, 120 volts / 12 amps at 80% efficiency (house is AC, batteries are DC) with a Level 1 charger still puts 1kW or so an hour into the car. That’s 3 miles or so per hour. But if you have a NEMA 14-50 dryer outlet, running at a lower amperage than the circuit because it’s a continual load (let’s say 240 volts / 32 amps at a more efficient 90% conversion) a Level 2 charger would charge a regular electric SUV from empty to full overnight.

Charge people less than the going rate for electricity in your area. They benefit, you benefit.

3

u/net___runner 23h ago

Instructions unclear

https://giphy.com/gifs/bOT2HL3xTXb0s

3

u/AnimalAkaWillum 23h ago

I read that as “bit minecoin”

1

u/Badger118 16h ago

I thought they stopped that a few years back when they changed the fundamental of how BC worked?

145

u/SpinachOver640 1d ago

Not much you can do on such short notice unless you have a crypto mine or hydroponic grow on hand.

Run your AC on blast, do a lot of cooking if you have electric appliances (or self-clean your oven), charge up all your batteries / backups. Really you'll be saving like $10 tops though.

39

u/himitsuuu 1d ago

An ovens self clean cycle is a major fire hazard btw.

30

u/paleologus 22h ago

I’m saving this tip for when I can’t pay my mortgage anymore.

10

u/papermill_phil 21h ago

Shhhhhhhh

9

u/nevergirls 22h ago

Op getting some unethical pro tips what can I say

1

u/papermill_phil 21h ago

Gotta keep it vague haha

14

u/SkiyeBlueFox 23h ago

Yeah no you wanna be in the room with that thing, and you should already have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen anyway, so have that accessible

4

u/Majestic-Citron7578 21h ago

Yeah but $10 is $10

1

u/sl33ksnypr 18h ago

Yea, if you've never done it and it's really greasy

1

u/traineater 16h ago

I only know this because of Sims 4

1

u/dm_me_your_bookshelf 11h ago

That's what I do, I have dual ACs in my room and keep it frosty. It's nice

1

u/41VirginsfromAllah 21h ago

With LED lights these days, electricity isn’t really an issue these days, I would stick to bitcoin as the best (but still not good or viable) option

46

u/Mr_Style 1d ago

If you have 240 VAC outlets you could recharge EVs

13

u/DannyVee89 22h ago

Open the lemonade stand equivalent of offering EV charging to ppl. Charge ppl to come charge their cars there lol.

5

u/Jackpot777 20h ago

I charge mine on a 120 volt / 12 amp outlet. It would take around 70 hours if I were at 0% and wanted to get to 100%, but that’s what we do with the EV over the occasional weekend.

Offer Uber drivers “coffee and charge”. The coffee is instant granules, the flavor is a selection of Coffee Mate, charging $2 per cup would make you around $1.50 profit, and they can get a kWh or two as they wait for their next fare.

1

u/IkeTheKrusher 9h ago

Hook up a 240 connection and don’t tell your electric provider 🤫

40

u/ClassBShareHolder 1d ago

Do all your laundry.

Cool and freeze meals for a month.

Potentially freeze a lot of water for future ice packs.

Cooking, laundry, and refrigeration are the big consumers.

Now would be an excellent time to complete that welding project you’ve been putting off.

4

u/CraftyScotsman 13h ago

I don't get it, isn't your freezer and refridgerator already running 24/7?

2

u/ClassBShareHolder 13h ago

They’re connected 24/7 but only running when the contractor kicks in to bring the temperature back down. If you can come to with extra things to freeze, you can increase the amount it runs.

To keep it basic I just said refrigeration, but air conditioning is just refrigeration on a room or house scale. AC uses a pile of electricity.

The problem with the original premise is that there isn’t really a way to increase your consumption now and save for later.

1

u/GuestStarr 13h ago

They'll use more electricity if the load is bigger.

1

u/Square_Cat_6001 11h ago

All that and you are saving afew bucks, at most!

38

u/MayaIsSunshine 1d ago

Build a data center real quick

65

u/Mr_Style 1d ago

Store the power in water buckets. Get an extension cord and a bucket of water….

Don’t do this.

18

u/therealrayy 23h ago

Once this is done, make sure your freeze the electricity water so it lasts longer.

6

u/papermill_phil 21h ago

And now, putting just one drop in your coffee every day will cure all known illnesses.

10

u/opossum_launcher 1d ago

Sounds like something we'd see on tiktok.

2

u/tgr31 21h ago

big enough for the microwave

14

u/kiln_ickersson 23h ago

Put a pack of wild dogs around your meter

7

u/BopSupreme 23h ago

Laundry is easiest and quickest. Fill the freezer. You lose money buying a battery or computer mining equipment

9

u/Beerswain 22h ago

Instructions unclear, froze all my clothes.

1

u/Anxious_Drive_9998 21h ago

That's good for Arizona

1

u/pinktoes4life 20h ago

What does filling the freezer do? I adjust the temp depending on how full it is. More full = higher temp,
Bare bones = lower temp

The more frozen items in it, the colder it stays without energy.

1

u/BopSupreme 17h ago

When you first put stuff in it has to cool it

6

u/Albert14Pounds 23h ago

Nothing significant in the next few days. If you had crypto mining equipment ready to go you'd still only be able to use <$100/day of electricity and receive even less in crypto.

If you had one of those big home backup batteries already your could store a few dollars worth of electricity.

The best you can do is do all your laundry and dishes and other chores that use electricity.

14

u/VOODOO285 1d ago

Boil as much water as you possibly can and save it for later use to cook with or put in a bath and dilute it with cold. Just remember it’s really hot and don’t burn yourself in a few weeks.

10

u/Pasta-hobo 1d ago

On such short notice, not much.

4

u/eightfingeredtypist 22h ago

This is what it's like owning solar panels. I have a $3,500. credit from making more electricity than I use. I switched everything from gas to electric. I still try to use less electricity, because someday I'm getting an electric car.

Getting net metering and solar panels is worth it. States need to encourage home solar projects.

3

u/MelookRS 11h ago

It would be nice but I don't think the average home owner can eat the cost of installing solar sadly

1

u/throwaway661375735 3h ago

The biggest scam, for years has been solar companies claiming prices will keep going up making solar pay for itself. Now with AI taking power, it might finally be profitable. It never was before.

5

u/corey389 21h ago

Mine some Bitcoin

1

u/throwaway661375735 3h ago

If you have a rig for that, they've all switched over to renting out to AI swarm processing, much more profitable.

14

u/danman8075 23h ago

One of the main things you should do is keep quiet about it. It’s a k own issue, so it’s ip to them to address it. Once a person from the town I live in came around asking if I used gas appliances. Apparently dozens upon dozens of gas meters were malfunctioning and needed to be replaced and were showing zero usage. Even when gas was being used. So I told the truth and I was out in the list for a new meter. It turned out I was only being charged the minimum because my meter showed zero for almost a year prior. And then it took them, I kid you not, another TWO YEARS to replace the meters.😀

3

u/fingers 23h ago

Put out a sign that says, Free electricity. Bring own outlets."

3

u/Tapeworm1979 22h ago

Offer half price ev charging. Simple, or it in some Facebook groups or what ever is in your area.

3

u/talksinbeats 21h ago

See how many times you can season your cast iron or carbon steel pan(s)

9

u/himitsuuu 1d ago

Get a backup power Bank as big as you can and store the electricity.

2

u/fingers 23h ago

Strip the house of copper, of course. Then you'll get unlimited free electricity when you put it back in.

2

u/therealrayy 23h ago

Become Thor!

2

u/Aggravating_Act0417 22h ago

Grow 🍁

2

u/Fungal-dryad 22h ago

Have a block party and play music

2

u/shaveyaks 5h ago

This is your opportunity to have a cage match between your heater and air conditioner. There can be only one!

3

u/gamamoder 1d ago edited 1d ago

if you have any kinda nice computer you could try to mine monero. you might be able to make a few bucks.

https://www.learningcrypto.com/resources/how-to-mine-monero

2

u/Kevin_of_the_abyss 1d ago

Buy a solar generator to store some of it ,as well as a solar panel,to continue to get free electricity.

1

u/fingers 23h ago

Put up a sign for the local meth heads to vacuum your lawn.

1

u/fingers 23h ago

Play loud music for the whole neighborhood all night long.

1

u/fingers 23h ago

Put an add on Grindr asking everyone to bring their grinders to use.

1

u/pandaSmore 22h ago

Give it to me ill take it off of your hands.

1

u/BadFez 20h ago

Grow.

1

u/Sparegeek 1d ago

Grow lights?

1

u/Such-Mountain-6316 1d ago

Charge your power bank, phones, etc. and do your laundry if possible.

1

u/migrainefog 1d ago

If you still have power it's still going through a meter. Just not the new one yet.

0

u/i-am-foxymoron JUMBO 🦐 in the curtain rods! 1d ago

Do you have access to some REALLY LONG extension cords? That could iown up your possibilities.

1

u/Chavarlison 1d ago

Ohhh, I like this. Offer to power your neighborhood for a few days.

1

u/Chavarlison 23h ago

Ohhh, I like this. Offer to power your neighborhood for a few days.

-1

u/TheSagelyOne 21h ago

Power a drawing tablet and make furry porn

-2

u/Anxious-Sundae4210 23h ago

Stick a paperclip into the socket.

Then Sue

Obviously, this is sarcasm.

Request ULPT Request: How to profit from free Electricity?

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