Digitalization and software have made our lives easier and made our operations many times more efficient over the past decades. Data centers consume two to three percent of the planet’s total electricity usage now. It has considerable CO2 footprint. Various ICT solutions are responsible for 4–10 percent of annual electricity consumption and 3–5 percent of global greenhouse emissions (ICT industry climate and environmental strategy, 2021).
By one estimate, consumption could jump to as much as 13 percent of the world’s total electricity demand by 2030. Everyone seems to be slowly convinced of the existence of climate change and the necessity of reacting to it. Climate change and the prevailing energy crisis in today’s world force us to examine all energy consumption. The ICT sector must also participate in ways to save energy, because all information processing, presentation and transfer consumes energy.
Technology for massive reductions in environmental footprint already exists – many try to optimize data centers PAU with different approaces and cleaner power generation. Green Data: The Next Step to Zero-Emissions Data Centers article mentions that as cloud computing becomes more energy efficient and increasingly relies on renewable sources it can help. The data center industry needs to think about this. Some players already do that.
But can coders help in making IT industry more green? Does anyone talk about writing greener software instead of bloatware? Does anyone talk to think that the features and all the processing of data makes sense?
Earlier as the speed of devices has continuously increased, it has been possible to implement software without worrying about efficiency. And while software grows in size, so does the amount of energy they consume. Software already reduces emissions by streamlining or optimizing other operations. This is called a carbon fingerprint. The IT industry has reduced unnecessary intermediate steps in processes or minimized the use of paper and printing. However, it cannot justify the inefficiency of the software and the growing energy consumption.
Yes, there is talking on going on green code and green IT more on last few years. It is not always clear how each of us can influence the matter. Software development is an excellent example of an industry where the climate impact of work can vary greatly depending on work methods. The same end result can be achieved either climate-wise way or by using bloatware that causes a large climate burden. The same end results can can be often achieved efficiently or ineffectively, in which case it is smart from the point of view of the Earth to choose an efficient implementation.
There is a lot of reckless data usage. The computing, storage and data transfer capacity of digital devices have developed in a way that no other field of technology has been able to do. Massive data transfer in use nowadays means massive extra energy consumption. In the fiber backbone network, to which the computer is often connected, the energy consumption of the transmitted bit is still reasonable. On the other hand, the mobile network clearly consumes more energy to transfer a bit, up to a thousand times more per bit. Why should smartphones be capable of computing at the level of supercomputers, when they mainly use various social media services or play games? Of course, there is a need for graphics for a better user experience, and because of ads, the pages are free for their users. Overall, however, the number of ads and graphics is far too large and poorly optimized.
It is clear that, on average, various websites have way too much data behind them. The kind of data that consumes a lot of energy, but often does not provide exceptional added value from the user’s point of view. In last 10 years the the typical size of web pages created for computers has increased by 500 percent and for mobile devices by more than 1000 percent. As a result, the size of a typical page for both mobile devices and computers is the same, around 2 megabytes. So what does this mean in practice? Overload and massive energy consumption: The data must first be stored on servers, transferred over the data network and processed in the terminal devices. The data is also typically disposable, i.e. it is loaded again when the website is visited later. And much of this data transfer is unnecessary. Optimizing websites can be done. These savings can be up to 50 percent of the traffic caused by the service. In some cases, it is possible to achieve savings of 90 percent, so that the end user does not see any difference. Many online stores have already noticed that the optimized pages work faster for the users, and that the faster their business is, the better their turnover is. If optimization starts to be done more widely, the consequences could be downright revolutionary.
In software development, highly automated processes are available in cloud services, data transfer and SaaS products. Unfortunately, this mode of operation – at least in its current form – limits our visibility to both our energy consumption and climate emissions. We need to gain knowledge how much much your systems consumes and why. In addition to knowledge, we must also have a view of the meaning of knowledge. A climate-wise coder needs a feel for key quantities. If our server consumes a kilowatt-hour of energy, is it a lot or a little?
Fortunately, research and discussion about the climate impacts of the ICT sector has already started and gained good momentum a few years ago. In Finland, it has been investigated e.g. in TIEKE ry’s Green ICT project (2021-2023), in which they promoted lower-carbon digital service production and climate-wise procurement expertise of companies and the public sector in the Uusimaa region in Finland.
Their web pages give information how to move forward on green IT. The project estimated that in many cases the footprint of an individual ICT service can be reduced by up to 90 percent with the right measures.
It is possible to minimize the inefficiency of the software using the so-called with green coding. Green code is an attitude or thought model towards coding, which results in optimized and resource-efficient code. At the same time, it should maximize value and minimize energy consumption. The opposite of green code is waste – energy-consuming activities that do not produce value. Green coding especially affects energy consumption. It aims to minimize both the time spent on data processing and the amount of data transferred, because both of them consume energy and cause climate emissions. Sustainable software engineering is better for the environment and can help a business’s bottom line. Those working in software development should think more about the carbon footprint of the lines of code they write.
Janne Kalliola has written an excellent book, Vihreä Koodi / Green Code that covers the topic what is green code. Green IT and code have already been talked about quite a lot in Finland over the past year. More software companies have started to talk about green coding, and to promote it. However, it has not yet been defined what the green code or eco-efficient systems are. The purpose of the book is not to unequivocally define green code and create a canon. Instead, the idea is to focus on describing patterns to stimulate thinking and presenting various solutions. By using these, anyone working on the matter can analyse their situation and identify the changes they need to make to become more environmentally friendly.
The Green Code book offers insights on the following topics:
- Why should code be green?
- The energy consumption of software
- Raiders of the lost efficiency
- Solutions on tackling lost efficiency
- Concrete recommendations for the main stakeholders involved in green software development, all the way from software developers to end-users
The second extended edition of the book also offers insights into the energy dynamics of AI, data usage, cryptocurrencies and the internet of things (IoT), while highlighting actionable strategies for sustainable growth.
The book is available in English with name Green Code at
https://www.exove.com/green-code/
You can download the original Vihreä Koodi in Finnish language at
https://www.exove.com/fi/vihrea-koodi/
Links to sources:
TIEKE ry’s Green ICT project
https://www.codeo.fi/blogi/vihrea-ict/
https://www.epanorama.net/newepa/2012/04/18/how-clean-is-your-cloud-and-telecom/
https://www.exove.com/fi/vihrea-koodi/
https://www.exove.com/green-code/
https://punamusta.com/asiantuntija/vihrea-koodi-on-tulevaisuuden-itta/
Sustainable Software Engineering – What Is It And What You Need To Know
https://www.mustread.fi/artikkelit/ratkaisu-on-vihrea-koodi-monet-digitaaliset-palvelut-on-suunniteltu-huonosti-ja-ne-vievat-valtavasti-energiaa/
https://www.sytyke.org/kestava-kehitys/vihrea-koodi/
https://www.greencode.world/
https://www.cgi.com/fi/fi/blogi/mita-green-coding-on
https://blog.digia.com/green-code-energiaviisaampia-ratkaisuja-asiakkaitamme-ja-tulevaisuuttamme-varten
57 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://punamusta.com/asiantuntija/vihrea-koodi-on-tulevaisuuden-itta/?utm_campaign=Pumu_Digitaaliset_palvelut&utm_content=286012775&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&hss_channel=fbp-1812829522376313&hsa_acc=2713656078726071&hsa_cam=120205505402940705&hsa_grp=120205505403160705&hsa_ad=120205505403230705&hsa_src=fb&hsa_net=facebook&hsa_ver=3
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://nitor.com/fi/artikkelit/kestava-digitaalinen-kehitys-alkaa-suunnittelusta?fbclid=IwAR3OliCiAYl1voWUb7Rjel8gBU0N99toBY19yPuKlD1MDj1WrimT6xfrsKw_aem_AXOQLCRMzOHP7YI7a2YTbNmRXe1aTTmd0bFu9WuO2qkB7PdEhKgGdE4YdQ7f-oITjBMZ-dIl-C1IdOwBM4vLwVh8
Tomi Engdahl says:
Green Data: The Next Step to Zero-Emissions Data Centers If the IT industry can halve its carbon emissions in each of the next three decades, it can help the planet reach net zero by 2050
https://spectrum.ieee.org/green-data-the-next-step-to-zeroemissions-data-centers
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.fraktio.fi/en/blog/what-steps-can-a-software-company-take-towards-sustainability
Tomi Engdahl says:
Uusia mittareita ICT-alan vihreään siirtymään
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2024/05/06/uusia-mittareita-ict-alan-vihreaan-siirtymaan/
Tulevaisuudessa ICT-alan ympäristöjalanjälki kasvaa nopeammin kuin millään muulla alalla, ja sen arvioidaan jopa kolminkertaistuvan tällä vuosikymmenellä. Nyt Suomessa on tartuttu alueen haasteisiin suomalaisen it-järjestö Tivian vetämässä Green ICT Visiiri -hankkeessa. Sen yhteydessä kehitetään myös alalle uusia mittareita, jotka paremmin konkretisoisivat alan ympäristövaikutuksia.
Tulevaisuuden kasvavan verkkoliikenteen ja tietokonevoiman vaativan energian lisäksi uusilla ICT-tekniikoilla tulee olemaan myös merkittävä rooli toiminnan tehostamisessa. Ongelmana on kuitenkin ettei tällä hetkellä sekä Suomesta että kansainvälisesti mittaristoa alan ilmasto- ja ympäristövaikutusten arviointiin.
Samaan aikaan kun ICT-laitteiden energiakulutus lisään niin myös ICT-laitteiden jätemäärä kaksinkertaistuu parissa kymmenessä vuodessa. Siksi ICT-tuotteiden ja -palveluiden tuotannossa ja käytössä panostettava vihreyteen ja energiatehokkuuteen.
Oikealla suunnittelulla tätä jalanjälkeä voidaan ohjelmistoissa pienentää selvitysten mukaan jopa 80 prosentilla. ”ICT-ala tuottaa globaalisti noin neljä prosenttia kaikista hiilidioksidipäästöistä. Yhteinen tavoitteemme on ymmärtää tilanteen vakavuus ja löytää keinoja ongelman ratkaisemiseksi,” kertoo Green ICT -hankkeen projektipäällikkönä toimiva Antti Sipilä.
Kansallisen Green ICT -ekosysteemin Visiiri-hanke tarjoaa ICT-palveluiden ja -tuotteiden tuottajille sekä hankkijoille ja käyttäjille tietoa, työkaluja, yhteistyöverkoston ja koulutusta. Sen avulla pyritään tuomaan myös uusia mittareita ICT-alan ympäristövaikutusten konkretisointiin,
Tavoitteena on luoda esimerkiksi malli, joka huomioi kaikki ICT-alan jalanjälkeen liittyvät tekijät sekä positiiviset ilmastovaikutukset. Hankkeen kautta suomalaiset ICT-yritykset saavat tietoa alan ympäristö- ja ilmastovaikutusten arvioinnin kansainvälisestä työstä ja lainsäädännöstä.
Kaikki hankkeessa tuotettu materiaali kerätään TIEKEn ylläpitämään greenict.fi-portaaliin
https://greenict.fi/
https://tieke.fi/hankkeet/greeni-ict-visiiri-vihrean-siirtyman-kansallinen-ict-ekosysteemi/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/16188-saehkoeistyminen-on-iso-haaste-aina-kun-bitti-liikkuu-kuluu-saehkoeae
Tomi Engdahl says:
HOW TO PUT A DATA CENTER IN A SHOEBOX
Imec’s plan to use superconductors to shrink computers
https://spectrum.ieee.org/superconducting-computer
SCIENTISTS HAVE PREDICTED that by 2040, almost 50 percent of the world’s electric power will be used in computing. What’s more, this projection was made before the sudden explosion of generative AI. The amount of computing resources used to train the largest AI models has been doubling roughly every 6 months for more than the past decade. At this rate, by 2030 training a single artificial-intelligence model would take one hundred times as much computing resources as the combined annual resources of the current top ten supercomputers. Simply put, computing will require colossal amounts of power, soon exceeding what our planet can provide.
One way to manage the unsustainable energy requirements of the computing sector is to fundamentally change the way we compute. Superconductors could let us do just that.
Superconductors offer the possibility of drastically lowering energy consumption because they do not dissipate energy when passing current. True, superconductors work only at cryogenic temperatures, requiring some cooling overhead. But in exchange, they offer virtually zero-resistance interconnects, digital logic built on ultrashort pulses that require minimal energy, and the capacity for incredible computing density due to easy 3D chip stacking.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://blogi.cloudpoint.fi/vanhojen-koneiden-ongelma-ratkaistu-vihrea-lippu-chrome-os-flex
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tekoälyhakuihin hukkautuu paljon energiaa
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/16301-tekoaelyhakuihin-hukkautuu-paljon-energiaa
Tekoälyn käytön lisääntyessä datakeskukset tulevat vaatimaan yhä enemmän virtaa vastatakseen kasvaviin prosessointivaatimuksiin. Onsemi on esitellyt uusia tehopiirejä, joiden avulla näiden halujen aiheuttamia tehohäviöitä voidaan pienentää.
Perinteiseen verkkohakuun verrattuna tekoälyä tukevan hakukoneen haku vaatii yli kymmenkertaisesti enemmän tehoa, minkä takia datakeskusten tehontarpeen odotetaan nousevan maailmanlaajuisesti arviolta 1000 terawattituntiin alle kahdessa vuodessa. Yhden tekoälyn tukeman pyynnön käsittelemiseksi energiaa muunnetaan neljä kertaa verkosta prosessoriin, mikä voi johtaa noin 12 prosentin energiahäviöön.
Tomi Engdahl says:
AI Power Consumption: Rapidly Becoming Mission-Critical
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bethkindig/2024/06/20/ai-power-consumption-rapidly-becoming-mission-critical/
The IEA is projecting global electricity demand from AI, data centers and crypto to rise to 800 TWh in 2026 in its base case scenario, a nearly 75% increase from 460 TWh in 2022. The agency’s high case scenario calls for demand to more than double to 1,050 TWh.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Financial Times:
Google says its greenhouse gas emissions have surged 48% in the past five years due to the expansion of the data centers that underpin its AI efforts — Tech giant’s ambition of reaching ‘net zero’ by 2030 under threat from power demands of artificial intelligence systems
https://www.ft.com/content/383719aa-df38-4ae3-ab0e-6279a897915e
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kohti pelkkää digimaksamista – Suomi edelläkävijä
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2024/07/04/kohti-pelkkaa-digimaksamista-suomi-edellakavija/
Digitaalinen maksu on käteistä parempi ympäristölle viestii digimaksamisen eurooppalainen toimialajärjestö EDPIA, joka on teettänyt alueen uusimman selvityksen. Tutkimus osoittaa, että digitaaliset maksut ovat ympäristöystävällisempiä kuin käteismaksut. Selvityksessä Suomi oli myös omassa luokassaan Saksaan ja Italiaan verrattuna.
Brittiläisen Oxford Economicsin digijärjestölle tekemä The Environmental Impact of Digital Over Cash Payments in Europe tarkastelee Saksan ja Italian lisäksi käteisen ja digitaalisten maksujen ympäristövaikutuksia Suomessa.
https://www.edpia.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/The-environmental-impact-of-digital-over-cash-payments-in-Europe-Oxford-Economics-for-EDPIA-April-2024.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Syynä kasvuun on yhtiön sähkön käyttö erityisesti sen datakeskuksissa. Yhtiö itse huomauttaa, että kulutus tulee tekoälyn aikakaudella vain kasvamaan.
https://www.tekniikkatalous.fi/uutiset/tt/1a8b2105-c9e8-411a-b389-34e99544b3b1?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR16ApkO5hxzaKCflNeYiXCUva3B6nKhg3WxRP4JVc5DPsZhQoFsRJjrzTM_aem_fQxinOYrZh0SuSR5AXYj3A#Echobox=1720215141
Tomi Engdahl says:
Financial Times:
Google says its greenhouse gas emissions have surged 48% in the past five years due to the expansion of the data centers that underpin its AI efforts — Tech giant’s ambition of reaching ‘net zero’ by 2030 under threat from power demands of artificial intelligence systems
https://www.ft.com/content/383719aa-df38-4ae3-ab0e-6279a897915e
Akshat Rathi / Bloomberg:
Google says it has stopped purchasing carbon offsets and is no longer maintaining operational carbon neutrality, but still aims to reach net-zero carbon by 2030
Google Is No Longer Claiming to Be Carbon Neutral
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-08/google-is-no-longer-claiming-to-be-carbon-neutral
The tech giant, which has seen its planet-warming emissions rise because of artificial intelligence, has stopped buying cheap offsets behind the neutrality claim. The company now aims to reach net-zero carbon by 2030.
Google has ended its mass purchase of cheap carbon offsets and thus stopped claiming that its operations are carbon neutral, according to the tech giant’s latest environmental report. The company now aims to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.
The Alphabet Inc. unit has claimed that it’s been carbon neutral in its operations since 2007. The status was based on purchasing carbon offsets to match the volume of emissions that were generated from its buildings, data centers and business travel. But in its latest report, the company states: “Starting in 2023, we’re no longer maintaining operational carbon neutrality.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google and Microsoft consume more power than some countries
News
By Anton Shilov published 2 days ago
But they generate more money too.
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/google-and-microsoft-consume-more-power-than-some-countries
In 2023, Google and Microsoft each consumed 24 TWh of electricity, surpassing the consumption of over 100 nations, including places like Iceland, Ghana, and Tunisia, according to an analysis by Michael Thomas. While massive energy usage means a substantial environmental impact for these tech giants, it should be noted that Google and Microsoft also generate more money than many countries. Furthermore, companies like Intel, Google, and Microsoft lead renewable energy adoption within the industry.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/16674-google-kuluttaa-enemmaen-saehkoeae-kuin-moni-valtio
Tomi Engdahl says:
Assessing The Energy Efficiency Of Programming Languages
https://hackaday.com/2024/09/10/assessing-the-energy-efficiency-of-programming-languages/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Reuters:
Utilities, regulators, and researchers in six countries say the power demand surge caused by AI and data centers is being met in the near-term by fossil fuels
Data-center reliance on fossil fuels may delay clean-energy transition
https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/how-ai-cloud-computing-may-delay-transition-clean-energy-2024-11-21/
Data centers increase reliance on fossil fuels, delaying transition to clean energy
Utilities add gas plants, delay retirements to meet data-center demand
Data companies’ green pledges fall short, rely on existing clean power
A spike in electricity demand from the world’s big data providers is raising a worrying possibility for the world’s climate: a near-term surge in fossil-fuel use.
Utilities, power regulators and researchers in a half-dozen countries told Reuters the surprising growth in power demand driven by the rise of artificial intelligence and cloud computing is being met in the near-term by fossil fuels like natural gas, and even coal, because the pace of clean-energy deployments is moving too slowly to keep up.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sustinaires ry
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Rb0uSjM6ymhKkmRuSzGNnr3R2T7rezH8/view
Tomi Engdahl says:
Datakeskuksien sähköntarve voi johtaa energiapulaan. Tekoäly kasvattaa sähkönkulutusta räjähdysmäisesti, Gartner arvioi.
Raju ennnuste: Sähkönkulutus räjähtää käsiin, datakeskuksia uhkaa energiapula
7.12.202417:30
Sähkö
Tekoäly
Digitalous
Energia
Datakeskuksien sähköntarve voi johtaa energiapulaan. Tekoäly kasvattaa sähkönkulutusta räjähdysmäisesti, Gartner arvioi.
https://www.uusisuomi.fi/uutiset/us/6dcf9eef-678a-46f6-b24d-87548d17b0de?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1Bei2Hg6MBhnmFNjq4ioselTyBfgSNOAEcmdImnse1955O6ru6HSx7rfs_aem_10JXPpXf99lP7o9pFg_fhw#Echobox=1733586081
40 prosenttia datakeskuksista tulee olemaan toimintarajoitteisia vuoteen 2027 mennessä, kertoo konsulttiyhtiö Gartner. Tilanne johtuu tekoälyn kasvattamasta sähkönkulutuksesta.
Gartner arvioi, että tekoälyyn optimisoitujen datakeskuksien tarvitsema teho on 500 terawattituntia vuodessa vuonna 2027. Datakeskukset tarvitsivat vain 195 terawattituntia vuodessa viime vuonna. Gartnerin analyytikko Bob Johnson kertoo, että datakeskuksien vaatima sähköntarve tulee ylittämään sähkölaitosten kyvyn laajentaa kapasiteettiaan riittävän nopeasti.
Päivän politiikan aiheet kätevässä paketissa – Tilaa Uuden Suomen maksuton uutiskirje
”Tämä puolestaan uhkaa häiritä energian saatavuutta ja johtaa energiapulaan, mikä rajoittaa datakeskusten kasvua vuodesta 2026 alkaen”, Johnson kertoo Gartnerin analyysissa.
Gartner Predicts Power Shortages Will Restrict 40% of AI Data Centers By 2027
Sydney, Australia, November 12, 2024
Rapid Growth in Energy Consumption For GenAI Will Exceed Power Utilities’ Capacity
AI and generative AI (GenAI) are driving rapid increases in electricity consumption, with data center forecasts over the next two years reaching as high as 160% growth, according to Gartner, Inc. As a result, Gartner predicts 40% of existing AI data centers will be operationally constrained by power availability by 2027.
https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-11-12-gartner-predicts-power-shortages-will-restrict-40-percent-of-ai-data-centers-by-20270
Tomi Engdahl says:
I Made Sorting Algorithms Race Each Other
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4JVT3eVBP8
Tomi Engdahl says:
Explained: Generative AI’s environmental impact
https://news.mit.edu/2025/explained-generative-ai-environmental-impact-0117
Rapid development and deployment of powerful generative AI models comes with environmental consequences, including increased electricity demand and water consumption.
In a two-part series, MIT News explores the environmental implications of generative AI. In this article, we look at why this technology is so resource-intensive. A second piece will investigate what experts are doing to reduce genAI’s carbon footprint and other impacts.
The excitement surrounding potential benefits of generative AI, from improving worker productivity to advancing scientific research, is hard to ignore. While the explosive growth of this new technology has enabled rapid deployment of powerful models in many industries, the environmental consequences of this generative AI “gold rush” remain difficult to pin down, let alone mitigate.
The computational power required to train generative AI models that often have billions of parameters, such as OpenAI’s GPT-4, can demand a staggering amount of electricity, which leads to increased carbon dioxide emissions and pressures on the electric grid.
Furthermore, deploying these models in real-world applications, enabling millions to use generative AI in their daily lives, and then fine-tuning the models to improve their performance draws large amounts of energy long after a model has been developed.
Beyond electricity demands, a great deal of water is needed to cool the hardware used for training, deploying, and fine-tuning generative AI models, which can strain municipal water supplies and disrupt local ecosystems. The increasing number of generative AI applications has also spurred demand for high-performance computing hardware, adding indirect environmental impacts from its manufacture and transport.
“When we think about the environmental impact of generative AI, it is not just the electricity you consume when you plug the computer in. There are much broader consequences that go out to a system level and persist based on actions that we take,” says Elsa A. Olivetti, professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the lead of the Decarbonization Mission of MIT’s new Climate Project.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Muuttamalla vähän Linux-koodia datakeskuksen virrankulutus voi laskea 30 prosenttia
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/17065-muuttamalla-vaehaen-linux-koodia-datakeskuksen-virrankulutus-voi-laskea-30-prosenttia
Kanadalaisen Waterloon yliopiston tutkijat ovat löytäneet keinon vähentää joidenkin datakeskusten energiankulutusta jopa 30 prosentilla. Mikä ihmeellisintä, tämä onnistuisi muuttamalla vain 30 koodiriviä Linux-ytimessä.
Tietotekniikka kattaa nykyään jopa viisi prosenttia maailman päivittäisestä energiankulutuksesta, ja tekoälyn nopea kasvu lisää laskentatehon tarvetta, mikä tulee entisestään kasvattamaan energiankulutusta. Lähes kaikki verkkoliikenne kulkee datakeskusten kautta, joista suurin osa käyttää avointa Linux-käyttöjärjestelmää.
- Datakeskuksiin saapuu tietoa ‘paketteina’, ja datakeskuksen etujärjestelmä, vähän kuin vastaanottovirkailija, selvittää, minne paketit lähetetään, selittää Waterloon yliopiston matematiikan tiedekunnan tietojenkäsittelytieteen professori Martin Karsten.
Karsten ja hänen tutkimusparinsa, tietojenkäsittelytieteen jatko-opiskelija Peter Cai, huomasivat, että datakeskusten verkkoliikenteen käsittely oli tehotonta. He kehittivät pienen, mutta merkittävän muutoksen, joka parantaa tätä prosessia huomattavasti.
- Emme lisänneet mitään uutta. Ainoastaan järjestimme tehtävät uudelleen, mikä johtaa datakeskuksen prosessorin välimuistin tehokkaampaan käyttöön. Se on vähän kuin järjestelisi tuotantolinjan niin, ettei työntekijöiden tarvitse juosta ympäriinsä, Karsten kertoo.
Koodi on nyt julkaistu osana Linuxin uusinta ydintä, versionumero 6.13.
Karstenin mukaan kaikki suuret yhtiöt – Amazon, Google, Meta – käyttävät Linuxia jossain muodossa. – Ne ovat kuitenkin hyvin tarkkoja siitä, miten käyttävät Linuxia. Jos nämä yritykset päättävät ottaa käyttöön menetelmämme datakeskuksissaan, sillä voitaisiin säästää maailmanlaajuisesti gigawattitunteja energiaa. Lähes jokainen internetissä tehty palvelupyyntö voisi hyötyä tästä.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Gartnerin teknologiatrendit 2025 – energiatehokas tietojenkäsittely – tekoälyn energiankulutus ja sen hallinta
https://www.exove.com/fi/blogit/gartnerin-teknologiatrendit-2025-energiatehokas-tietojenkasittely-tekoalyn-energiankulutus-ja-sen-hallinta/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Are we creating too many AI models?
https://www.infoworld.com/article/3855672/are-we-creating-too-many-ai-models.html
When training an LLM has enormous costs and environmental impact, it’s worth asking what we gain by creating another one—especially if it isn’t that different from other models.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Former Google CEO Tells Congress That 99 Percent of All Electricity Will Be Used to Power Superintelligent AI
“We need the energy in all forms, renewable, non-renewable, whatever.”
https://futurism.com/google-ceo-congress-electricity-ai-superintelligence
billionaire tech tycoon and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt imagines for the future of humanity, if his comments to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce are any indication.
“What we need from you,” Schmidt told lawmakers, “is we need the energy in all forms, renewable, non-renewable, whatever. It needs to be there, and it needs to be there quickly.”
The wannabe tech overlord was appearing in front of the government panel to talk AI — specifically, what the future holds for it.
“Many people project demand for our industry will go from 3 percent to 99 percent of total generation… an additional 29 gigawatts by 2027 and 67 more gigawatts by 2030,” he asserted. “If [China] comes to superintelligence first, it changes the dynamic of power globally, in ways that we have no way of understanding or predicting,” Schmidt said, even echoing the backstory of Ellison’s cautionary tale.
Schmidt’s American exceptionalism — the idea that the US is superior to all other global interests — is nothing new, and neither is his wild-eyed brand of AI hype. In 2023, CNN reported that “42 percent of CEOs say AI could destroy humanity in five to ten years.” Yet if today’s tech is any indication, AI has a long trek through the slop before it can even think of destroying humanity, let alone siphoning 99 percent of the earth’s energy.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.exove.com/green-it-purchasing-guide/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Reuters:
Sources and a document: China aims to build a national network to sell surplus computing power and address an oversupply caused by a three-year data center boom
China plans network to sell surplus computing power in crackdown on data centre glut
https://www.reuters.com/technology/china-plans-network-sell-surplus-computing-power-crackdown-data-centre-glut-2025-07-24/
China reviewing data centre sector after building boom
National cloud service aims to harness surplus computing power
Challenges include real-time power transfer and chip integration
Tomi Engdahl says:
Green Page Analyzer
Tällä työkalulla voi analysoida minkä tahansa julkisen verkkosivun datan käyttöä. Palvelun tekemä analyysi kertoo, miten paljon ja mihin sivu kuluttaa dataa ja millainen sen datamäärä on muihin verkkosivuihin verrattuna.
https://greenpages.aalto.fi/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jannekalliola_how-to-fight-back-it-energy-consumption-by-activity-7387431283095695361-3XoU?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&rcm=ACoAAAACCmABPSSc6WguWzruqQo_hSEPC5Jn4Xg
Tomi Engdahl says:
We need to talk about green hifi. SMPSU Class D amplifiers are much more environmental friendly that class A and AB because they consume less power and need less aluminum + copper + iron.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Voiko IoT edistää kestävää kehitystä?
https://etn.fi/index.php/tekniset-artikkelit/18440-voiko-iot-edistaeae-kestaevaeae-kehitystae
Internet of Things (IoT) nähdään usein energiasyöppönä ja elektroniikkajätettä lisäävänä teknologiana. Oikein suunniteltuna ja pitkä elinkaari huomioiden IoT voi kuitenkin muodostua keskeiseksi työkaluksi kestävän kehityksen edistämisessä – aina energiankulutuksen optimoinnista paristottomiin anturiratkaisuihin.
Kestävä tuotantotekniikka on tärkeässä asemassa, kun halutaan käyttää järkevästi planeetan äärellisiä luonnonvaroja. Vaikka termiä on käytetty viime vuosina mantran tavoin, siitä on myös muodostunut liiketoiminnan ja taloudellisen aktiviteetin keskeinen tukipilari.
Monissa kestävän tekniikan aloitteissa IoT toimii pääasiallisena laite- ja ohjelmistoalustana. Vaikka toteutukset vaativat alkuvaiheessa merkittäviä energiakustannuksia, pitkällä aikavälillä panostukset maksavat nopeasti itsensä takaisin.
Transforma Insightsin ja 6GWorldin raportin Sustainability in New and Emerging Technologies in 2023 mukaan IoT-tekniikan hyödyntäminen kattaa valmistamisen ja käyttöönoton vaatimat energiakustannukset. Sen lisäksi se tuo säästöjä noin kahdeksan kertaa enemmän kuin mitä energiakustannuksiin on kulutettu.
Keräämänsä datan ansiosta IoT hyvittää ympäristöjalanjälkensä jopa moninkertaisesti. Kun IoT:hen yhdistetään tehokkaasti esimerkiksi koneoppimisen sovelluksia, voidaan koota suuria tietomääriä. Näiden avulla ihmiset ja organisaatiot voivat ymmärtää paremmin omaa energiankulutustaan ja tehdä valveutuneita ympäristöön liittyviä päätöksiä. Päätöksentekoa voidaan myös automatisoida esimerkiksi älykkään energianjakelun avulla.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A new physics-based AI model uses digital twin simulations to optimize data center cooling, reducing costs.
https://bit.ly/4sR17mV
Tomi Engdahl says:
Euroopan komissio aikoo suositella EU-maille etätyötä ja julkisen liikenteen käyttöä vähentääkseen fossiilisten polttoaineiden käyttöä. Taustalla on Iranin sodan aiheuttama energian hintashokki.
Mitä mieltä olet näistä suunnitelmista?
Lue juttu
https://www.iltalehti.fi/ulkomaat/a/aa1dc6e2-39ce-4704-941e-9d885f8eb353?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&utm_variant=nativeimage#Echobox=1776711512
Tomi Engdahl says:
Turning waste heat from data centers back into electrical power is an engineering challenge, but it is becoming increasingly viable as facility temperatures rise and conversion technologies improve.
Because data center exhaust heat is typically low-grade—meaning it sits at relatively low temperatures (usually 30°C to 45°C for air-cooled facilities, and up to 60°C or higher for liquid-cooled systems)—traditional steam turbines won’t work. Instead, specialized thermodynamic cycles and materials are required.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Historically, open-loop evaporative cooling has been the dominant method for large-scale data centers, but the industry is currently undergoing a massive structural shift toward closed-loop systems.
If you look at all operating data centers globally, the majority of massive “hyperscale” facilities (built between 2010 and the early 2020s) rely heavily on open-loop evaporative cooling towers.
For new builds and upcoming deployments, the industry is pivoting sharply toward closed-loop cooling.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://share.google/aimode/36HsbTdnr14oMtP0T
Haihduttava jäähdytys (evaporative cooling) on energiatehokas tapa datakeskusten ylikuumenemisen estämiseksi. Suomessa haihduttavaa jäähdytystä voidaan hyödyntää harvakseltaan sen vaatiman vesimäärän vuoksi, mutta sitä käytetään erityisesti huippukuumina kesäpäivinä vapaajäähdytyksen tukena. Kokonaisuudessaan Suomen viileä ilmasto pitää vesitehokkuuden (WUE) Euroopan matalimpana.Suomalaisessa datakeskusilmastossa haihduttavan jäähdytyksen ja konesalien toimintaan vaikuttavat seuraavat tekijät:Vesitehokkuus (WUE): Suomessa datakeskusten vedenkulutus jäähdytykseen on keskimäärin vain 0,07 l/kWh, kun EU:n keskiarvo on huomattavasti korkeampi eli 0,58 l/kWh.Kombinaatio vapaajäähdytyksen kanssa: Laitokset luottavat suurimman osan vuodesta (talvella ja välikausina) ulkoilmaan perustuvaan vapaajäähdytykseen tai esimerkiksi meriveteen. Haihduttavaa jäähdytystä käytetään ainoastaan kesähelteillä.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Yhdysvalloissa datakeskusten keskimääräinen vedenkulutustehokkuus (WUE) on perinteisesti ollut noin 1,8 litraa per kilowattitunti (l/kWh)
Tomi Engdahl says:
Data centers do not “destroy” water fundamentally, but they heavily deplete local freshwater supplies through evaporation and can cause thermal and chemical pollution if wastewater is mismanaged.
While the water molecule itself isn’t destroyed, the process of evaporative cooling turns liquid water into vapor, removing billions of gallons of drinkable water from local watersheds annually.
Evaporation: In open-loop evaporative cooling towers, roughly 80% of the freshwater consumed is evaporated into the air to cool the servers. This water is lost to the local community and ecosystem until it rains elsewhere.
Aquifer Strain: Many facilities pump directly from local groundwater or municipal drinking supplies, which can lower water tables, dry out private wells, and strain water-stressed regions.
When data centers release their leftover wastewater (known as “cooling-tower blowdown”), it introduces specific types of pollution.
Chemical Pollution: To keep cooling systems free of bacteria, algae, and rust, operators add aggressive chemicals. If this wastewater is discharged improperly, it introduces biocides (like chlorine or bromine) and corrosion inhibitors (like phosphates) into local water streams.Heavy Metals: Over time, the internal metal piping of cooling systems degrades. This introduces trace amounts of heavy metals like copper, zinc, and lead into the wastewater.Thermal Pollution: Water discharged back into rivers or lakes from cooling systems is often much warmer than the natural environment. This warm water drastically lowers dissolved oxygen levels, killing fish and triggering toxic algal blooms.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finland does not use much evaporative cooling primarily because the country’s cold climate allows for highly efficient “free air cooling” (vapaajäähdytys) almost year-round.Operating open evaporative systems in a subarctic environment is both unnecessary and technically impractical.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The annual average temperature in southern Finland is only around 5–6°C. For roughly 80% to 90% of the year, data centers can simply draw in cold outside air or circulate ambient-cooled water in a closed loop to keep servers at optimal temperatures. Because this direct air cooling requires virtually zero water, there is no economic or technical need to build massive, water-consuming evaporative infrastructure.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finland does not use much evaporative cooling primarily because the country’s cold climate allows for highly efficient “free air cooling” almost year-round.Operating open evaporative systems in a subarctic environment is both unnecessary and technically impractical even though a lot of water would be easily available cheaply without problems.
The annual average temperature in southern Finland is only around 5–6°C. For roughly 80% to 90% of the year, data centers can simply draw in cold outside air or circulate ambient-cooled water in a closed loop to keep servers at optimal temperatures. Because this direct air cooling requires virtually zero water, there is no economic or technical need to build massive, water-consuming evaporative infrastructure.
Finland has extensively developed district heating networks (kaukolämpö). Instead of using evaporative cooling towers to vent heat into the sky as water vapor, Finnish data centers operate sealed, dry closed-loop systems. The hot water from the servers is channeled directly into industrial heat pumps to heat thousands of homes, such as the Microsoft and Fortum partnership in Espoo. Evaporative cooling would essentially destroy this economic and environmental value by evaporating the heat into thin air.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) in Sweden’s data centers is among the lowest in the world, typically achieving values approaching 0.0 L/kWh.
Tomi Engdahl says:
there is AI vs water on some locations due poor decision making. They have built over the years the data centers that use most water to USA locations with limited water supply available, and data centers that use very little water to countries where there is no shortage of available water. Maybe some decision makers are building the data centers to wrong places in a wrong ways so they introduce more than needed problems?
Average data center in USA consumes 25 to over 100 times more water than data centers in cold Northern Europe (water liters per kWh). European average data center consumer around third of water compared to data centers in USA.
Tomi Engdahl says:
U.S. Water Consumption ComparisonCrop Irrigation: Accounts for roughly 27 trillion gallons (27,630 billion gallons) annually. Irrigation is the largest user of freshwater withdrawals in the United States, consuming tens of billions of gallons every single day.Data Centers: All U.S. data centers combined consume an estimated 170 billion to 230 billion gallons of water annually (this includes both direct cooling and the indirect water footprint required to generate the electricity they consume).The Ratio: Nationwide, crop irrigation consumes over 100 to 120 times more water than all U.S. data centers combined.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Elon Musk’s space data center idea is a plan to bypass Earth’s land, water, and power constraints by launching a mega-constellation of up to 1 million solar-powered AI data center satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google uses the ocean for data center cooling and tracks ocean cooling/warming on a global scale. In Hamina, Finland, Google runs a massive seawater cooling system. It pulls cold water from the Gulf of Finland through granite tunnels, runs it through heat exchangers, and mixes the warmed water with cooler water before safely returning it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Modern closed loop system has Near Zero water usage for cooling. Water is needed for initial charge, rare leaks, facility facility maintenance, and “hotel loads”. The water consumption is typically inder 0.1 to 0.3 liters per kWh (older data centers needed average of ~1.9 Liters per kWh). Facility “Hotel Loads” are standard commercial usage like bathrooms, showers, and drinking water for on-site staff (comparable to a single commercial restaurant). While closed-loop systems are a massive win for water conservation—especially in drought-prone or water-scarce regions where modern megawatt-scale AI facilities are being built—they present distinct trade-offs like increased energy consumption.
Even if a closed-loop data center consumes zero water on-site, it still has an indirect water footprint via the electricity it consumes. Depending on the local power grid (e.g., if the electricity is generated by hydroelectric or thermoelectric power plants that require water for cooling), the data center indirectly drives water consumption upstream.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GGYk9cJyB/
A massive Michigan data center is humming like a jet engine into nearby homes.
In the small town of Dowagiac, Michigan, residents living near a 30-megawatt data center say a constant mechanical hum has transformed daily life.
One homeowner compared it to living beside a jet engine.
Using his own sound meter, Billy Finn measured noise levels around 60 decibels from his porch – about as loud as a noisy dishwasher. At times, he says the sound has climbed as high as 78 decibels.
He says the hum is constant.
“It’s like we’re living in a prison in our own yard, in our own house,” his wife, Marjorie, told local media.
Two nearby homeowners have filed a lawsuit against the facility, alleging that excessive noise from the data center is invading their homes and reducing their quality of life. They argue the operator failed to install adequate sound barriers.
Noise complaints are becoming a recurring issue as AI data centers expand across the United States.
These facilities contain thousands of servers that run around the clock and require powerful cooling systems. While the computers themselves are relatively quiet, the large fans, cooling equipment, and backup infrastructure can generate a continuous low-frequency hum.
Health experts say noise at these levels is unlikely to damage hearing directly. However, long-term exposure to persistent environmental noise has been linked in some studies to increased stress, sleep disruption, and other health effects.
The data center operator has not publicly accepted the residents’ claims, and the lawsuit is ongoing.
As AI companies race to build more data centers, communities across the country are increasingly debating not only electricity and water use, but also what it means to live next door to the infrastructure powering artificial intelligence.
Learn more:
“‘A prison in our own yard’: Life next to a data center — and its never-ending noise.” MLive.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://apstechadvisors.com/data-center-water-consumption-in-the-us-challenges-trends-and-market-opportunities-for-2025-2030/?hl=en-US