Panel debate: The internet’s rising energy consumption
How can we prevent the internet’s energy consumption from escalating?
In relation to the research project INCOM, which Develco Products participates in, there was recently a panel debate about the internet’s rising energy consumption. The panel consisted of representatives from DTU, Dansk Energi, Telia, Greenpeace and Huawei. The panel discussed the exponential growth of internet traffic, the considerable amount of energy consumed by the internet, and how we can keep improving the efficiency of ICT, so the total energy consumption of the internet does not escalate.
The panel debated what measures are needed to make the internet more sustainable, and they discussed questions such as: Should the industry commit to energy-efficient solutions in their future designs? Should public institutions lead the way and only choose energy-efficient IT solutions? Can the internet help reduce our overall climate impact by, for example, reducing travel expenses? And what new technologies can reduce energy consumption? At Develco Products, we strive to provide the IoT industry with products that help reduce energy consumption in order to help our customers reduce their environmental footprint.
Learn more about how you can reduce energy consumption through smart energy and building management.
Takeaways from the panel debate
The panel agreed that energy efficiency in ICT is very important and relevant for policy makers to address. Also, policy makers should introduce an energy-efficiency criterion on all new ICT equipment, before deployment is allowed, and insist on phasing out old, inefficient equipment and networks. The panel agreed that public institutions should only use green ICT solutions, and for instance only use green cloud solutions (green data centers). Finally, research and development in the area of energy-efficient ICT should be strongly supported.
