If your electric utility offers a time-of-use (TOU) plan, the kWh price changes throughout the day. Off-peak hours, usually overnight and on weekends, can be 30-60% cheaper than peak afternoon rates. A home Malairte miner that runs only during off-peak hours is much cheaper to operate than one running 24/7 on a flat rate.
Typical TOU structure
- Peak: weekday afternoons and early evenings (often 3pm-9pm). Most expensive.
- Mid-peak: shoulder hours mornings and late evenings.
- Off-peak: overnight and weekends. Cheapest, sometimes by a wide margin.
A worked example
Say your TOU plan charges $0.22/kWh peak and $0.08/kWh off-peak. A 400W rig mining 24/7 averages roughly $0.15/kWh weighted, so about $1.44/day. The same rig mining only the 10 off-peak hours costs about $0.32/day - less than a quarter of the always-on bill, while still earning MLRT for those hours.
How to actually schedule it
Windows: Task Scheduler can start and stop the miner at fixed times. macOS: launchd or a cron-style scheduler. Linux: standard cron with start/stop scripts. Most mining software also accepts a config file with a time-window option built in.
Check your bill first
Not every customer is on a TOU plan even when one is available. Log in to your utility account or call them and ask. If your bill shows a single flat rate, switching to TOU may save you money on mining hours but cost more on cooking/laundry hours - run the maths before you opt in.