Definition
PDU (Power Distribution Unit) is a device that takes a single high-capacity electrical feed and splits it into multiple individually-outletted circuits, letting you safely power several ASIC miners from one heavy-duty supply instead of scattering them across many wall sockets.
Also known as: power strip (the consumer cousin), rack PDU, or metered/switched PDU in larger deployments.
What a PDU actually does
At its simplest a PDU is the bridge between your electrical panel and your hardware. A breaker in the panel protects a circuit; the PDU then distributes that circuit’s capacity across a row of outlets, often adding its own metering, surge protection, or remote on/off switching. Think of it as a smart, current-aware power strip built for continuous industrial loads rather than a laptop and a lamp.
PDUs come in tiers. A basic unit just multiplies outlets. A metered PDU reports total amperage draw so you can see how close you are to the limit. A switched PDU lets you cut power to an individual outlet over the network, which is invaluable for remotely rebooting a hung miner without driving to the site. The fancier the PDU, the more it behaves like a tiny piece of facility infrastructure.
Why a home or small-scale miner cares
This is where the PDU stops being abstract. A single modern Antminer-class PSU such as the APW12 can pull up to roughly 3,600 W at 200-240V, and overclocked variants demand a dedicated 30A circuit or even dual circuits. A standard North-American 15A/120V wall outlet tops out near 1,800 W, and the 80% continuous-load rule drops the safe ceiling to about 1,440 W. Plug a full-power S19-class machine into that and you are tripping breakers, not mining.
The practical answer for most plebs running two, three, or four units in a garage or basement is a single 240V circuit feeding a properly-rated PDU. Running ASICs on 240V instead of 120V also lets the PSU operate at its rated efficiency, since these supplies are happiest in the 200-240V band. The PDU then hands each miner a clean, individually-fused feed. If you are scaling a small home-mining setup or a garage-mining rig, the PDU is the piece that turns “a few extension cords and a prayer” into something an electrician would actually sign off on.
Sizing, safety, and the breaker behind it
A PDU does not create capacity, it distributes it. The breaker in your panel is still the final electrical safety layer, sitting downstream of the PSU’s own internal over-current and over-temperature protections. Never load a PDU past about 80% of its rated amperage on a continuous basis, and match the PDU, the wire gauge, the plug type (NEMA in North America), and the breaker as one coherent system. Oversizing the PDU while undersizing the wire is a fire risk, not a shortcut.
For numbers that matter, work from real electricity-cost figures and your machine’s true wall draw, not the nameplate. A metered PDU makes this honest: it shows total kilowatts so you can confirm a 240V/30A circuit (about 7,200 W theoretical, ~5,760 W continuous) can actually carry your fleet before you commit to the wiring. If you are mining in Canada, hosted Hashcenter capacity priced per kilowatt-month is one alternative when home circuits run out of headroom; if you are staying home, a good PDU is the cheapest insurance you can buy. Browse compatible gear and tuning options on the miners page when you are ready to build out.
PDU vs. PSU: don’t confuse them
A PDU distributes AC mains power to several devices. A PSU lives inside (or bolted onto) a single miner and converts that AC into the low-voltage, high-current DC the hashboards need. The PDU is upstream of everything; the PSU is the last conversion stage before the silicon. Most ASIC failures blamed on “bad power” are really circuit-loading mistakes that a correctly-sized PDU and breaker would have prevented.
Related terms: PSU, power circuit, 240V outlet, electricity cost, voltage regulator, residential mining
In Simple Terms
A power distribution device for feeding multiple miners from one circuit with monitoring and protection.
PDU (Power Distribution Unit) is a device that takes a single high-capacity electrical feed and splits it into multiple individually-outletted circuits, letting you safely power several ASIC miners from one heavy-duty supply instead of scattering them across many wall sockets.
Also known as: power strip (the consumer cousin), rack PDU, or metered/switched PDU in larger deployments.
What a PDU actually does
At its simplest a PDU is the bridge between your electrical panel and your hardware. A breaker in the panel protects a circuit; the PDU then distributes that circuit's capacity across a row of outlets, often adding its own metering, surge protection, or remote on/off switching. Think of it as a smart, current-aware power strip built for continuous industrial loads rather than a laptop and a lamp.
PDUs come in tiers. A basic unit just multiplies outlets. A metered PDU reports total amperage draw so you can see how close you are to the limit. A switched PDU lets you cut power to an individual outlet over the network, which is invaluable for remotely rebooting a hung miner without driving to the site. The fancier the PDU, the more it behaves like a tiny piece of facility infrastructure.
Why a home or small-scale miner cares
This is where the PDU stops being abstract. A single modern Antminer-class PSU such as the APW12 can pull up to roughly 3,600 W at 200-240V, and overclocked variants demand a dedicated 30A circuit or even dual circuits. A standard North-American 15A/120V wall outlet tops out near 1,800 W, and the 80% continuous-load rule drops the safe ceiling to about 1,440 W. Plug a full-power S19-class machine into that and you are tripping breakers, not mining.
The practical answer for most plebs running two, three, or four units in a garage or basement is a single 240V circuit feeding a properly-rated PDU. Running ASICs on 240V instead of 120V also lets the PSU operate at its rated efficiency, since these supplies are happiest in the 200-240V band. The PDU then hands each miner a clean, individually-fused feed. If you are scaling a small home-mining setup or a garage-mining rig, the PDU is the piece that turns "a few extension cords and a prayer" into something an electrician would actually sign off on.
Sizing, safety, and the breaker behind it
A PDU does not create capacity, it distributes it. The breaker in your panel is still the final electrical safety layer, sitting downstream of the PSU's own internal over-current and over-temperature protections. Never load a PDU past about 80% of its rated amperage on a continuous basis, and match the PDU, the wire gauge, the plug type (NEMA in North America), and the breaker as one coherent system. Oversizing the PDU while undersizing the wire is a fire risk, not a shortcut.
For numbers that matter, work from real electricity-cost figures and your machine's true wall draw, not the nameplate. A metered PDU makes this honest: it shows total kilowatts so you can confirm a 240V/30A circuit (about 7,200 W theoretical, ~5,760 W continuous) can actually carry your fleet before you commit to the wiring. If you are mining in Canada, hosted Hashcenter capacity priced per kilowatt-month is one alternative when home circuits run out of headroom; if you are staying home, a good PDU is the cheapest insurance you can buy. Browse compatible gear and tuning options on the miners page when you are ready to build out.
PDU vs. PSU: don't confuse them
A PDU distributes AC mains power to several devices. A PSU lives inside (or bolted onto) a single miner and converts that AC into the low-voltage, high-current DC the hashboards need. The PDU is upstream of everything; the PSU is the last conversion stage before the silicon. Most ASIC failures blamed on "bad power" are really circuit-loading mistakes that a correctly-sized PDU and breaker would have prevented.
Related terms: PSU, power circuit, 240V outlet, electricity cost, voltage regulator, residential mining