The evolution of the personal computer and its energy consumption
The personal computer (PC) industry is becoming part of the worldwide economy. From humble beginnings in the early 1980s, the PC now dominates corporate hardware spending for information technology or computer systems. It is estimated that in 1994 $90 billion will be spent worldwide on PCs, out of a total of only $140 billion on new hardware. PCs are also becoming widespread in the home. In 1994 it is estimated that home consumers will buy 7 million PCs in the United States alone. Worldwide, it is estimated that 12 million home consumers will buy PCs in 1994. PCs are also becoming much more powerful. Today`s Pentium is not a mainframe, but it packs power that would have cost $1 million 5 to 10 years ago. The PC`s trend to becoming more powerful is a continuing phenomenon. Demand for power and storage grows at a faster rate. One would expect energy requirements to grow faster than the PC market, and yet the PC market is one of the fastest growing in the world, at approximately 10 to 15% per annum, and this growth is expected to continue in the future. A growth rate of 15% in unit sales per annum, plus some premium for more power, means that energy consumption could grow 20 to 25% per year, which is an unacceptable figure in the world of limited resources in which we live. The energy required to power offices is growing, but much of this energy is not used. The typical PC is probably used 2 to 4 hours a day, and the rest of the time it is idle. Thirty or 40% of office workers leave the PC on all night. They use it for 4 hours a day, but actually consume energy for 24 hours. Even when the PC is used, there`s very little happening. It is estimated that the power currently wasted is equivalent to three sizable power plants, or even eight power plants on a worldwide basis. It`s even more complex than that, because idle PC`s and monitors generate heat, which means more money must be spent cooling the building in which they are located.
- Research Organization:
- Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States); Policy Research Associates, Inc., Reston, VA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 254573
- Report Number(s):
- EPRI-TR--105549; CONF-9410439--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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