Category: IT Energy
- Zoom, video conferencing, energy, and emissions ()
It is obvious that Zoom is better for the environment than flying but what about vs driving an EV or public transport? The problem is we can’t be sure.
- How much energy will 5G consume? ()
5G networks have larger antennas, larger bandwidths, and higher base station density. This means up to x3 more energy consumption. How can the industry expect x20 more energy efficiency by 2030?
- Barriers for startups tackling data center energy consumption ()
There is scope to start something tackling the problem of data center energy consumption. However, there are significant challenges: how to measure the problem, the uncertainty around the current situation, and the limited number of growth buyers.
- Hiding greenhouse gas emissions in the cloud ()
The scientific journal, Nature Climate Change, has published a paper I’ve written about how moving to the cloud can result in greenhouse gas emissions being hidden.
- How much water do data centers use? ()
US data centers are expected to use 660 billion litres of water in 2020. In 2018, Google consumed 15.79bn litres and Microsoft 3.61bn litres, primarily for their data centers. What is this used for and how does it impact the environment?
- Energy efficiency, edge compute and serverless ()
We want to encourage more efficient use of cloud resources but designing incentives is hard. That changes with serverless and edge compute. Now energy usage is linked to price.
- Carbon emissions aware cloud compute ()
The first example of carbon aware compute is uniquely suited to hyperscale cloud environments. It becomes even more interesting with carbon aware load balancing and serverless.
- The environmental impact of buying a new laptop – comparing the MacBook Air and Surface Laptop ()
Apple produces the most environmentally friendly laptops from both a carbon footprint and energy efficiency perspective, but it depends on which model you compare. The best thing you can do for the environment is to not buy a new laptop.
- Data center energy and the importance of efficiency ()
Data center energy usage has only grown by 6% in the last decade. How important have efficiency improvements been for decoupling energy from growth?
- How much energy do data centers use? ()
Data centers are responsible for between 1-1.5% of global electricity usage today but some scenarios project that will grow to 3-13% by 2030. How realistic is this? How efficient are servers and data centers? Will efficiency continue to improve?