Study: Gadget Use Lowered Energy Efficiency

So while appliance manufacturers worked to lower the electric consumption of their products—for the sake of government standards and increased consumer awareness about the bill—it seems newer gadgets like cell phones, PCs, and TVs undid all those energy efficiency gains.

Courtesy of Wikipedia

As more people started getting into texting, calling, surfing online, and watching HD broadcasts, residential energy consumption increased by an average of 3.4 percent a year, since 1990, according to a study conducted by the International Energy Agency. The IEA wants people to realize that the increased participation of consumers is key to reversing this trend.

“The extent of savings is large; however the energy and financial savings on individual residential appliances often appear insignificant to consumers,” the report said.

Green activists have dubbed 2009 as the year of climate change because of a deadline to agree in December a U.N.-led global climate pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

But rising home energy use underlines how dramatic action on climate change would need action by individuals as well as governments. The report underlined the difficulty of cutting greenhouse gases as people’s lifestyles became increasingly affluent.

Gadget manufacturers have taken steps increase the efficiency of their products, making them last longer on a single charge and consuming less power than ever. But accompanying this is a trend towards higher-capacity batteries—which need to consume more power to receive a full charge without significantly increasing the charging time. Not to mention the unofficial impression—based on personal experience—that computers are left on overnight to download large files.