Your miner could be offline for many different reasons which we detail in this article. We will go from lowest to highest severity which generally aligns with shortest to longest time offline. With the exception of a damaged miner, all of the offline situations described below can result in customer credits. If any of the offline situations cause customers' miners to go offline for more than 5% of the time during a year, customers will be given credits (USD) to offset the hosting electricity invoice. These credits can be used towards any bill as compensation. More information can be found in our FAQ on Downtime Credits.
Facility Maintenance:
Sometimes miners will go offline for short periods of time due to scheduled facility maintenance. This maintenance can involve many things.
- Cleaning - Sometimes facilities will turn off miners for basic cleaning. Miners pull in a lot of air and if the working space is dirty then this puts the miners at risk of damage. Having a clean environment is important for the longevity of a miner.
- Rack upkeep - Racks, containers, and shelves wear out over time. To keep miners running smoothly, the infrastructure must be built and maintained properly. If a shelf needs replacement, all miners on that shelf must be moved for repairs.
Engine Maintenance:
Depending on the energy source of the facility there may need to be periodic engine maintenance or repair. This is specifically the case for all natural gas-powered facilities. Just as a gasoline engine needs periodic oil changes and filter replacements (oil and air) so does a natural gas generator. If you were to run your car 24/7 it would need schedule maintenance more frequently that a car that only drives on weekends. For a natural gas generator to run 24/7 it needs to be powered down, inspected and worked on at least monthly.
Cooling/Air Flow Concerns:
Mining hardware consumes a lot of energy to compute hashes, generating significant heat from the hash boards. While the built-in fans can dissipate heat on a small scale, they aren’t enough for large-scale mining operations.
Facilities must be designed to isolate exhaust air from intake air and expel exhaust quickly. This often requires additional fans and pressure management. If not handled properly, miners can overheat and shut down. They have built-in safeguards to prevent running in excessive heat, protecting your hardware. If this occurs, we will work directly with the facility to resolve cooling and airflow issues.
None of our facilities use AC units to cool the miners. This approach would be too costly and ineffective at this scale, undermining our ability to offer low electricity costs.
Damaged Miner:
This is the worst case for a miner. All of our miners come standard with a manufacturer warranty. Typically, the manufacturer warranty is a year but in some cases this changes depending on the machine. This protects the customer from any damaged parts. We order hardware directly from the manufacturer or from our own network of certified resellers. Note: This information can be seen on the store page when purchasing units. When a miner is damaged, we will work directly with you and/or the facility to determine the root cause of the issue before initiating the repair process. Depending on the situation this may involve replacing a single part or the entire machine.
Energy Shedding or Curtailment:
To achieve competitive electrical rates, Compass uses special energy contracts with the power grid. These contracts let the energy grid management temporarily idle some or all of our mining operations. If curtailment downtime exceeds the expected 36 hours in a 30-day month, downtime credits will be issued.
In both hot and cold climates, the grid may turn off part or all of a mining farm to ensure enough energy is available for residents to heat or cool their homes.
Miner Status and Facility Updates:
You can check miner status and facility updates in two locations, depending on whether your miner is deployed.
- If your miner has been deployed or powered on, you can check the facility status to see if it’s offline for any reason.
- If your miner hasn’t been deployed yet, refer to our latest deployment status article for updates on when it will go online.