The DOI matches its Crossref record; 10 of the 10 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Energy Intensity of Computer Manufacturing: Hybrid Assessment Combining Process and Economic Input−Output Methods
Abstract
The total energy and fossil fuels used in producing a desktop computer with 17-in. CRT monitor are estimated at 6400 megajoules (MJ) and 260 kg, respectively. This indicates that computer manufacturing is energy intensive: the ratio of fossil fuel use to product weight is 11, an order of magnitude larger than the factor of 1-2 for many other manufactured goods. This high energy intensity of manufacturing, combined with rapid turnover in computers, results in an annual life cycle energy burden that is surprisingly high: about 2600 MJ per year, 1.3 times that of a refrigerator. In contrast with many home appliances, life cycle energy use of a computer is dominated by production (81%) as opposed to operation (19%). Extension of usable lifespan (e.g. by reselling or upgrading) is thus a promising approach to mitigating energy impacts as well as other environmental burdens associated with manufacturing and disposal.
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Cites
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Self-citationComputers and the Environment: Understanding and Managing their Impacts
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Self-citationA generic method for the identification of options for cleaner products
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Economic Input-Output for Life Cycle Assessment
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Cited by
Assessing ICT global emissions footprint: Trends to 2040 & recommendations
Belkhir, L., & Elmeligi, A. (2018) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.239 · Cited by 970
Environmental impacts of hybrid and electric vehicles—a review
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Environmental effects of information and communications technologies
Williams, E. (2011) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature10682 · Cited by 304
Self-citationLessons learned – Review of LCAs for ICT products and services
Arushanyan, Y., Ekener-Petersen, E., & Finnveden, G. (2014) · Computers in Industry · doi:10.1016/j.compind.2013.10.003 · Cited by 161
Kahhat, R., & Williams, E. (2012) · Resources, Conservation and Recycling · doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2012.07.008 · Cited by 110
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Metadata
- Authors
- Williams, E.
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2004-10-16
- Volume
- 38
- Issue
- 22
- Pages
- 6166-6174
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- OpenAlex
- W2052965052
- Cited by
- 262
- References
- 10
- FWCI
- 7.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
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Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
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