Information Technology Meets Global Ecology VIII: Computers and Energy Use
We’ve been discussing paper usage in the ‘paperless office’ of the New
Economy, but what about energy costs?
The Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center estimates that,
“About 25 percent of office computers are left running at night and on
weekends. . .which accounts for about 7 percent of commercial electricity
consumption. That doesn’t include the cost of air conditioning to remove heat
buildup caused by office equipment.” 1
A typical desktop computer with a monitor uses 120-180 watts of
electricity, about the same as two light bulbs.2 Computers in sleep mode use
30 watts or less. 3
Yet the net effect of the use of information technologies is far from clear.
Computers are saving energy too:
Computers and other office equipment represent the fastest-growing demand for
electricity. At the same time, most computer processing units are embedded in
devices other than computers and these electrical controls have increased
energy efficiency in a number of industries.
In 1999, electricity demand was only slightly higher than the previous years
because ...it was off set by a decrease in industrial demand from efficiency
improvements. 4
The online research for this set of tips (staring with March, 27) took me
about 2 hours at the computer. I did print out one longer WasteWise report of
sixteen pages -- who would want to read that on a computer screen -- but I used
Union Camp Great White paper with 25% recovered fiber that had gone through
the printer once already. Everything else I read, cut and pasted from my
computer screen.
I did not drive to the library, although as pointed out in the State of the
World 2000, “No communications technology in history has ever been associated
with a new reduction in travel.” 5
So do computers save energy? Stay tuned next week for the conclusion of this
tip sequence.
* *
1 Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center, phone:
206-223-1151, e-mail: office@pprc.org, web: www.pprc.org. This article at
http://www.pprc.org/pprc/pubs/quizes/quiz99work.html
2 This amount varies according to which computer you use. But I also saw a
variety of figures, one as high as 300 watts per computer.
3 State of the World 2000, The Worldwatch Institute, Lester Brown et al., W.
W. Norton & Company, New Yor/London, p121.
4 Brown et al., page130, as quoted from US Dept. of Energy, Annual Energy
Outlook.
5 Brown et al., p 130.
