Electricity use in Information Technologies

Abstract

At present, there are no definitive, measured data on electricity loads and operating profiles for computers and other electronic office equipment, based on a statistically meaningful sample of US commercial buildings. In this paper, the authors review fragmentary data available to us and analyze measured power levels for computers and peripherals. The authors then discuss options for improved efficiency in electronic equipment hardware, software, and operations. Finally, the authors outline future trends in electricity loads due to information technologies, to illustrate the influence of component efficiency and market saturation.