Connected devices waste $80 billion in electricity annually

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Compton_effect

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http://fortune.com/2014/07/02/electricity-cost-power-80-billion/

by Benjamin Snyder @WriterSnyder JULY 2, 2014, 6:43 PM EDT

Inefficiencies in electronics are costing the world dearly. And that cost is rising.

The next time you power on your television or game consoles, take a second to think about the waste associated with it.

A report by the International Energy Agency, an organizations that advises developed nations, released on Wednesday did just that and the sum is astounding. Over $80 billion in power was spent unnecessarily in 2013 because of inefficiencies with the world’s 14 billion online electronic devices, including printers, gaming consoles and televisions.

By 2020, that number is expected to climb to $120 billion as more devices like washing machines, light bulbs and refrigerators are connect online, according to the report.

“Electricity demand of our increasingly digital economies is growing at an alarming rate,” the report said. The IEA, which is based in Paris, found that devices consumed about 616 terawatt-hours of power in 2013. The catch? Most of that power was used while the devices were in standby mode.

“The problem is not that these devices are often in standby mode, but rather that they typically use much more power than they should to maintain a connection and communicate with the network,” said Maria Van der Hoeven, the IEA’s executive director, in a statement.

The IEA also said that the idea of the standby option on a devise is a “misnomer.” While it “suggests that the device has gone to sleep and is almost off,” the agency found that’s not the case. “In reality, most network-enabled devices draw as much power in this mode as when activated to perform their main tasks,” the agency explained.

“Just by using today’s best-available technology, such devices could perform exactly the same tasks in standby while consuming around 65 percent less power,” she added.

To put it in perspective, the agency said that more efficient technologies could save the equivalent of over 600 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, or closing the doors on 200 coal-fired power plants.
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Over $80 billion in power was spent unnecessarily in 2013 because of inefficiencies with the world’s 14 billion online electronic devices, including printers, gaming consoles and televisions.
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How do they know that my TV was on without me watching it? How do they know that my lights were on without me being in the room?

Were they spying on me?
 
Picard said:
How do they know that my TV was on without me watching it? How do they know that my lights were on without me being in the room?

Were they spying on me?
Click to expand...

Maybe you should finish reading the article first :p
 
The next time you power on your television or game consoles, take a second to think about the waste associated with it.
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Fine and all but this seems to me more like something manufacturers instead of consumers should fix.
 
Picard said:
How do they know that my TV was on without me watching it? How do they know that my lights were on without me being in the room?

Were they spying on me?
Click to expand...

That reminds me of "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" :D
 
An American catching on to what the rest of the world already does. .. Eurpoe has the TEC100 code of conduct and all devices should go in to standby using no more than 0.5 Watts of energy when they go to sleep.
 
A lot of these appliances would nbe in stand by mode during off peak times, so a lot of the energy used then is actually being output anyway and just means the the electricity companies get more revenue then.
 
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