8. Using ICT to reduce energy

The last page indicated that ICT equipment does use a lot of energy. But it can be used to reduce it in other ways as well:

Building management

Many modern buildings have computer controlled environment systems in place.

• An Air conditioning system keeps the temperature at a reasonable level. There may also be automatic window openers and sun screens to control the effect of sunlight and cool down the building
• Solar panels to reduce the amount of electricity from the national grid
• Energy monitoring displays to help staff know what is using up the power
• Low energy LED lighting controls
• Water conservation systems to re-use water, especially in industrial factories

Smart meters

In general, people at home do not know how much energy is being used at any moment and what is using it. The idea of a smart meter is to keep track of energy use minute by minute. A display in the home then shows what is going on.

Since energy costs money, smart meters may encourage people to switch off unused equipment.