Televisions gobble energy strong growth in consumption for mobile communications
In 2010, ICT appliances will require around 55 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in Germany. That is almost 11 per cent of the total German electricity consumption and corresponds to the electricity production of eight large power stations. This emerges from calculations of the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, Karlsruhe, for the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour. According to these, more than half the electricity demand is accounted for by televisions, servers, stereo systems and, increasingly, the infrastructure of mobile communications companies. Up to 20 per cent of this could be saved according to studies of the Fraunhofer researchers. Because of their intensive use, televisions are particular energy gobblers. They are likely to consume a good fifth of the total energy for ICT in 2010. However, the greatest increase in energy consumption is expected among mobile communications networks as well as in the extension of the communication infrastructure in households. For mobile communication networks, today's demand of just over one billion kilowatt hours will almost quadruple by 2010. The reason for this is mainly the extension of the UMTS networks which have a very high power consumption. In contrast, the rise in households depends mainly on the spread of broadband connections such as DSL modems. Most of the energy will be required in normal operation. However, many appliances also consume electricity in standby mode and in the so-called off-mode, in which the appliance seems to be switched off. The power demand in off-mode will indeed decrease by around 20 per cent to 2 billion kilowatt hours by 2010 according to calculations of the Fraunhofer researchers but, in their estimation, this is still too high because it is completely superfluous. Furthermore, the decrease cannot be ascribed to an increase in efficiency. In many cases it is due to the off-mode being replaced by standby operation in the future. This applies especially to digital televisions. In view of these figures, the Fraunhofer experts recommend a ratchet-ting of efficiency standards and a standardisation of the numerous energy labels at national and international level. Also helpful is an energy-conscious use of these appliances. For example, power can often be saved by a deliberate use of switchable multiple socket outlets. The study can be ordered from the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI in Karlsruhe. The Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI complements the techno-scientific spectrum of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft with economic and societal aspects, analysing technological developments, their market potentials and their impacts on economy, state and society. The Institutes interdisciplinary teams focus their work especially on the fields of energy, environment, production, communication and biotechnology, as well as regional research and research policy. ,
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