SFN report: Computers with modern technology save energy when used for reading

Posted by Erina Lin on June 15, 2010 at 3:56 PM

Digital technology not only creates e-waste, but also uses energy when devices are not turned off, and in many cases, unplugged. However, the good news is that better technology today means more efficient energy use. Today's personal computers, and especially laptops, use substantially less energy use when using them for reading, according to a 2009 report by the KTH Centre for Sustainable Communications, "Screening environmental life cycle assessment of printed, web based and tablet epaper newspaper."

The average PC and LCD screens on the market in 2005 used 110 watts in idle mode, and laptops used 32 watts, according to the report. A modem adds an additional nine watts, SFN's Going Green reported.

In Sweden, where the report was created and where digital usage is high compared to the worldwide average, the average household of two people use the Internet about 160 minutes per day. However, because equipment that is not turned off when not in use also uses energy, the non-active time is 1,280 minutes per day.

Energy use per amount of data transferred was estimated at an average between nine to 16 kWh/GB for U.S. networks in 2006 by the 2008 report "Estimating Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Internet Advertising," by Bruce Taylor and Jonathan Koomey. Electricity used per GB transferred continues to grow more efficient, dropping each year by 30 percent, that report found, according to the report, Going Green, released by SFN and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers.