The ROI Calculator takes four inputs and projects your node economics over 36 months: hardware cost, electricity rate, expected uptime, and a token price scenario. The outputs — daily net, monthly net, payback period, and ROI% — are only as good as the assumptions behind them. Here's how to stress-test each one.

Always run the calculator at three scenarios: current price (baseline), -50% (bear case), and current price +0% (flat case, assuming no appreciation). If the economics only work in a bull scenario, you are not investing in node infrastructure — you are speculating on token appreciation with hardware overhead. Nodes should earn positive real returns at flat or mildly bearish token prices to justify hardware capital.

A 5x difference in electricity rate (e.g., $0.05/kWh in Texas vs $0.25/kWh in Germany) completely changes the economics of GPU-intensive nodes. Aethir's H100 cluster consumes 8.4 kWh/day. At $0.05, electricity costs $12.60/day. At $0.25, it costs $63/day against a $48/day gross yield. Geography determines profitability for energy-intensive hardware.

A payback period under 18 months at current prices is generally acceptable for commodity hardware. For purpose-built dePIN hardware with no secondary market, aim for under 12 months. Protocols with genuine revenue (Helium's cellular fees, Render's rendering fees) provide more durable payback assumptions than pure inflationary emission models.