Behavioral and technical potentials for energy efficient development of households' ICT solutions

The project studied use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in private homes through qualitative interviews, and the consequences for electricity consumption were analysed. Scenarios were developed for strong and moderate growth in the use of ICT. The ICT share of the electricity consumption in private homes went up from 17% in 1997 to 26% in 2006, and this share is expected to increase to between 37% and 45% in 2015. In addition to the direct electricity consumption, increasing energy consumption is also to be expected for production, transport and disposal of ICT equipment and for the ICT infrastructure such as server farms and transmission masts. (Energy 10)