Fri 23 Mar 2007
Wow, really shows what happens to all of this crap.
Posted by admin under Rants
(2 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
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A response to iWaste, Was done so well that I decided to add it to my rants category.
I am curious about the impact of our use of these products before we throw them away; specifically I have been looking at electricity consumption as a result of their usage. |
A typical home computer has a maximum voltage of 250W-300W; at this rate, if the computer were left running non-stop it would consume about 6 kWh per day or just over 180 kWh for an entire month. Some quick math will tell you that electrical consumption over an entire year will be nearly 2,200kWh, solely to run one computer
Consider global context: According to the CIA World FactBook, in 2006 the Gaza Strip was home to 1,428,757 people, and the same area consumed 230,000kWh of electricity that year. If the computer described above ran non-stop for one year in the Gaza Strip, it would have consumed nearly 1% of all electricity produced in that country that year. The people who live in the Gaza Strip receive less than 0.16 kWh (per capita) each year to power their homes.!
When everything is boiled down to simplest terms:
In one hour, your computer consumes nearly twice as much electricity as a citizen of the Gaza Strip consumes in an entire year.
This entire rant is rooted in my pet peeve of people who always leave their computers on 24/7. Usually this is done to (seemingly) religiously carry an online status, or maybe to receive that oh so important 4am msn message. This activity is wasteful in our national context, it is not sustainable in a global context, and it is downright disgusting when compared to the plight of most people in the world, such as those in the Gaza Strip.
Turning your computer off when not in use is such a simple step that will result in huge amounts of electricity savings. Remember, like most products, computers are only good for so long, and running them less often will extend their lifetime. Running your system all the time not only consumes unnecessary amounts of energy, but also be sends your computer to an early grave, where it can join the piles of crap we can see so clearly in the iWaste video.
-Ben Hutchinson
March 24th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
While I respect the topic and goal of this rant, your first assumption badly affects the final number. While most PCs have a maximum power supply output around 250-300W, the average PC will rarely approach the maximum output. At this ( http://www.journeysystems.com/?powercalc ) site you can calculate the power required by different configurations, including the maximum you’ll ever need if all devices and peripherals are in use, as well as the idle power.
I agree that there are far too many computers left powered on when not in use, and that we would do well to charge more for electricity use, but it will take a technological incentive or a decent educational campaign to get through to the hardest heads. I have no problems powering down computers that I come across, but B&E is going too far.