EMERGING TRENDS FOR ENERGY CONSUMPTION WITHIN ICT DEVICES

Abstract - The information and communication technology (ICT) is closely related to the future of global energy consumption, not only because the ICT equipment itself increasingly consumes energy, but also because it is a general-purpose technology, which may affect energy use of almost all sectors. The growing demand for ICT devices and services outpaces the efficiency gains of individual devices. Previous studies had alluded that cumulated potentials for ICT-induced savings is several times larger than the entire energy consumption of ICT itself. More studies on ICTrelated energy consumption do exist, and an increasing number of studies looking at ICT induced energy efficiency. The few studies, however, considering both aspects, typically do so independently, without relating the two aspects. Moreover, in the energy efficiency discourse, ICT is usually treated as a monolithic block of technologies – only the application areas that are expected to benefit from it being differentiated. It is only by consequently following low energy consumption targets for technologies with a low energy efficiency potential, while at the same time not suffocating technologies with a high-energy efficiency potential through restrictive consumption targets, this paper will discuss the various emerging trends in energy consumptions within ICT devices.