Last month we wrote about the International Energy Agency's report on the global energy consumption of consumer electronics. "Gadgets" currently account for about 15% of residential energy consumption, and the number of people using them worldwide is expected to increase dramatically in the next several years. In order to offset that increase in energy consumption, the IEA reported, we'll need to see either widespread consumer demand for increased efficiency, or stricter standards. While we're not opposed to regulation, an increase in demand for energy efficient products would seem to signify a heightened awareness on the part of consumers. And that can never be a bad thing.
So it was with great joy that we read this morning that Intel, at Thursday's Research@Intel day in Mountain View, California, announced a number of measures aimed specifically at increasing the energy efficiency of their products. "Information technology uses about 2 percent of the electricity generated in the United States," according to Greentech Media, and it seems that Intel wants to play a part in ratcheting that number down.
Among the energy efficiency projects being tackled by Intel:
- A way for desktop computers to remain connected to a network while in "sleep" mode. PCs currently use around 150 watts while idling, compared to 1-2 watts while asleep. The inability for PCs to remain connected to a network while in sleep mode is one of the major excuses of PC users for leaving them on 24/7. Intel's development could represent one giant vampire slain.
- The new "Moorestown platform" for mobile internet devices is predicted to reduce the power consumed by idle laptops and mobile phones by a factor of 50, compared to the previous platform, according to Intel's chief technology officer Justin Rattner.
Ticky Thakkar, director of platform architecture for Intel's ultra mobile group, compared the new technology to turning on the lights only in a room you're using, instead of leaving on every light in the house, according to Greentech.
We're tremendously excited about Intel's apparent enthusiasm for energy efficient technologies. Aside from their presumable anticipation of updated Energy Star standards for home electronics, we take Intel's developments (along with the recent Apple/Dell "world's greenest family of notebooks" scandal) as a hopeful sign that market demand for energy efficiency may be ready to expose its muscle.
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