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Internet Uses 9.4% of Electricity In the US

Posted by Zonk on from the that's-it dept.

ribuck writes "Equipment powering the internet accounts for 9.4% of electricity demand in the U.S., and 5.3% of global demand, according to research by David Sarokin at online pay-for-answers service Uclue. Worldwide, that's 868 billion kilowatt-hours per year. The total includes the energy used by desktop computers and monitors (which makes up two-thirds of the total), plus other energy sinks including modems, routers, data processing equipment and cooling equipment."

5 of 271 comments (clear)

  1. meh by Eternauta3k · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They shouldn't count PCs, they have many more uses than just the internet.
    Also, pirates counter global warming...

    --
    Yeah. Would you choose a neurosurgeon who pokes around people's brains in his spare time? I wouldn't.
  2. Low Wattage Laptops by lobiusmoop · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is why I think the OLPC project shouldn't be limited to third world countries. These laptops run on only a couple of watts! If more first-world computer users used them for basic surfing instead of 200 watt gaming rigs, much energy/CO2/fossil fuel could be saved I think.

    --
    "I bless every day that I continue to live, for every day is pure profit."
  3. Err, so "the internet actually makes up 3.13% by NoNeeeed · · Score: 4, Insightful
    The total includes the energy used by desktop computers and monitors (which makes up two-thirds of the total)

    So "The Internet" makes up 3.13%, not 9.4%

    The other 6.27% is from desktop computers. Which may or may not be doing "internet stuff" at any moment in time. Lumping all desktop machines into the count is disingenuous.

    It's still a bigger number than I would have thought. And it is a bit of an eye opener to realize how much power all those PCs are using up.

    --
    Paul Leader
  4. But what does it save? by redefinescience · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I wonder how much energy is actually SAVED because of the internet, quick example: email. How much energy is used shipping a letter across the country?

  5. Re:What about energy-saving servers? by jabuzz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Replace that with a low current LED example RS 180-8495, 2mA and 1.8V or 0.0036W. There is nothing inherently wrong with standby. The problem is that the current designs are as cheap as possible not as low power as possible. You could design a circuit to bring say a TV out of standby with a remote that consumes less than 100mW easily. It would cost more but is perfectly do able.

    What is required is legislation to mandate that say standby can consume no more than 1W, then crank it down over the years. Another one would be legislation to for minimum levels of efficiency in power supplies, 85% would be a good starting point, and then crank it up over the years.