The study led by Ricardo Pinto, Tiago Domingos and Tânia Sousa, professors and researchers at the Marine, Environment and Technology Center (MARETEC), a research unit affiliated with Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, demonstrates that electricity consumption by computing equipment has experienced a period of relative stability as a percentage of global consumption. According to the authors of the article published today in iScience journal, this is the result of a massive increase in computer efficiency, which indicates a reduction in the amount of electricity needed to perform each calculation.

“Currently, there is a great deal of concern about the energy consumption by computing equipment, specifically within data centres”, shares Ricardo Pinto. “That is why studying what has happened is essential to put into perspective what we can actually expect. This study shows that, in the recent past, efficiency gains have been sufficient to keep electricity consumption under control”. The study analyses the sector’s evolution between 1975 and 2022 and shows that, since 2018, computing has accounted for around 1.8% of global electricity consumption.

The article, titled Long-run electricity consumption in computing: exponential growth followed by stabilisation due to efficiency gains, stands out for its systematic, annual analysis not only of electricity consumption but also of the amount of information processed and energy efficiency over several decades. “This study has credibly detected, for the first time, the phenomenon of stabilization in electricity consumption”, says Tiago Domingos.

Over the period analysed, electricity consumption increased by around 10,000 times. However, the volume of data processed grew by approximately 100 billion times, while efficiency has increased by around 10 million times. This demonstrates that, despite the massive increase in computing power, “efficiency gains were sufficient to prevent a disproportionate rise in energy consumption”.

The study was carried out in collaboration with Paul Brockway, from the Sustainability Research Institute at the University of Leeds. “This study forms part of a line of research that has been analysing, from a long-term historical perspective, the evolution of energy use and energy efficiency in different sectors of society”, concludes Tânia Sousa.