Introducing the first solar powered nano node

Today is Earth Day 2023, an opportunity to appreciate the wonders of our planet and - even more importantly - take steps to safeguard its future. 

Sustainability has always been a cornerstone of nano currency. It was designed to be the most efficient form of money in existence, offering instant transactions, for free, on a decentralised network so lightweight it could be powered by the energy produced by a single wind turbine. Nano requires no printing, minting or mining and has already been fully distributed via a method that prioritised fairness over profit. 

But there is always more to be done. So, inspired by Earth Day’s message, let’s pose a question:

How do you make the world’s most efficient currency even more efficient? 

This is something we ask ourselves everyday at the Nano Foundation. It’s why we never stop working to improve the nano network. 

It’s also a question that’s clearly been on the mind of nano community member, u/jayycox, as he’s come up with a rather innovative answer: run the network on solar power.

Last year, jayycox set up a solar powered PoW server for Nault wallet. Well, now he’s gone one step further and built a fully solar powered nano node, complete with PoW server, network switch, router and even its own nano faucet!

According to jayycox, the entire system draws 18 watts in total, so around 430Wh per day. To put these numbers into perspective, the fridge in your kitchen uses somewhere between 350-780 watts, so between 8400Wh and 18,720Wh per day. In fact, chances are, if you’re not using LED lights, a single lightbulb left on in your home will draw roughly double the energy of jayycox’s entire solar rig. 

That’s an incredible testament to the efficiency of the nano network and with the release of V25 on the horizon, it’s only going to get better.

Jayycox himself has said that his solar solution is not perfect. He is using low spec systems so there is a sacrifice to be made in terms of node performance. However, as a proof-of-concept, it’s an incredibly exciting development.  

Let’s take it even further

To mark Earth Day, we’re issuing a call to action. Can anyone in our community build on jayycox's innovation? What are some other ways we can make the nano network more efficient and more sustainable? If you’re working to make this a reality, get in touch with details of your project and we’ll shout about it on our socials.

Who knows, with advocates as innovative and committed as those in the nano community, a nano network run entirely on renewable energy might be closer than we think. 

How can the nano network run on so little electricity?

Great question. In short, nano does not use the energy intensive process of mining to secure the network. Instead, it uses a voting based system called Open Representative Voting. It’s an amazing development and you can read more about it here. And that’s not the only innovation that makes nano so energy efficient. For a deep dive into everything else efficiency-related, head this way. 

If you’d like to learn more about nano, check out our Beginner’s Guide, follow us on Twitter, or join our lovely nano community.