PCs + www. = kWh Coal


Your typical PC and its peripherals (printers, scanners, modems, etc.) accessing the internet require about 1,000 watts of power.  A lump of coal is burned every time a book is ordered on-line.

It takes about one pound of coal to create, package, store and move two megabytes of data..

Power - Watts
Computer Devices

Electric Use
Integrated Circuit
PCs + Attachments
Routers
Servers

90 watts
1,000 watts
500 - 1,500 watts
1,000 - 2,000 watts
To Build -  It takes 9 kilowatt-hours per square inch to make an Integrated circuit.  The amount of electricity used to make a simple PC is about 1,500 kWh.

The average home user is online 12 hours / week and consumes 1,000 kWh per year to access the Internet.  It takes kilowatt-hours to transport digital computer bits around the Internet just as it takes gasoline to transport you around town.

 

 

 

Electric Demand from PCs

The electricity used for all office, telecommunications, and network equipment (including electricity used to manufacture the equipment) is about 8% of total electricity use in the U.S.