These are just a few of the limitations of the Asic miners-
- High power consumption: As stated the energy consumption can be considerable.
- Unreliability: These devices are not suitable for other tasks that require computing.
- Upgradeability Issues: Once a cryptocurrency modifies its protocol or mining difficulty rises, earlier ASIC models might become outdated mining machines with expensive hardware that's not performing optimally. Understanding these factors can be the very first stage towards understanding why energy consumption is essential in mining operations.