Researchers say streaming requires less energy, emits less carbon dioxide

May 29, 2014 06:30 GMT  ·  By
Study finds streaming requires less energy, releases less carbon emissions than DVD viewing does
   Study finds streaming requires less energy, releases less carbon emissions than DVD viewing does

In a paper published in the journal Environmental Research Letters this May 29, researchers with the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory and Northwestern University argue that streaming works wonders for the environment, at least when compared to DVD viewing.

This is because streaming requires less energy than DVD viewing does and also releases less carbon dioxide emissions into the planet's atmosphere, the specialists go on to detail.

Hence, it might not be such a bad idea if people were to quit DVD renting, buying and viewing altogether and stick to streaming services alone when looking to indulge in one or two episodes of the latest hit TV series.

The Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory and Northwestern University scientists detail that, according to evidence at hand, the United States could have kept around 2 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions from being released in 2011 had all DVD viewing been shifted to streaming services.

This estimate is based on calculations showing that one hour of video streaming releases about 0.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide. By comparison, one hour of DVD viewing releases 0.71 kilograms of this greenhouse gas.

In terms of energy consumption, the specialists who worked on this research project maintain, whereas one hour of streaming requires an average of 7.9 megajoules, one hour of DVD viewing requires 12 megajoules, EurekAlert informs.

The scientists calculate that, had folks in the United States opted for streaming alone in 2011, this difference in energy consumption would have translated into savings of up to 30 petajoules, the same source details.

Just to put things into perspective, it need be said that this much energy would be more than enough to meet the demand of as many as 200,000 households in the country, the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory and Northwestern University specialists explain.

In light of these findings, the scientists recommend that efforts be made to scrap DVDs altogether, and instead focus on promoting streaming services. More so given the urgency to curb greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit climate change and global warming.

“Our study suggests that equipment designers and policy makers should focus on improving the efficiency of end-user devices and network transmission energy to curb the energy use from future increases in video streaming.”

“Such efficiency improvements will be particularly important in the near future, when society is expected to consume far greater quantities of streaming video content compared to today,” says study lead author Arman Shehabi with the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory.