While digital technologies increase demand for electricity in data centres and networks, they can also reduce energy use elsewhere by replacing more energy-intensive physical activities.
The study examined the total electricity consumption of digital services compared with traditional alternatives, considering the full delivery chain. Rather than focusing solely on data centre energy use, it assessed the electricity required for digital infrastructure, transmission networks and end-user devices, alongside the energy consumed by physical alternatives such as manufacturing, transport, retail and office environments.
Researchers compared a range of everyday activities, including video streaming versus Blu-ray discs, eBooks versus printed books, and AI-powered translation versus human translation. Across these examples, digital services generally matched or consumed significantly less electricity than their physical counterparts.
The findings were particularly positive for AI-assisted services. The report concluded that, although AI requires additional electricity for computing, the technology can reduce overall energy consumption by completing office-based tasks more quickly, reducing the time buildings, lighting and equipment need to be in use.
For non-AI digital services, the picture was more mixed. Online education and cloud back-up were found to reduce electricity demand compared with traditional alternatives, largely by cutting travel, building use and local storage requirements. However, activities such as video streaming and cloud gaming consumed more electricity than their physical equivalents because of the energy required to transmit large volumes of data.
The report also explored the potential impact of replacing traditional digital terrestrial television with online streaming. It estimates that, if all existing terrestrial TV viewing switched to streaming with no change in viewing habits, UK electricity demand could increase by around 1.8TWh a year due to the greater energy required for content delivery.
Importantly, the analysis compares digital and physical services on a like-for-like basis and does not consider changes in consumer behaviour. It therefore assesses the direct energy impact of delivering the same service digitally rather than the wider effects of digitalisation driving increased demand through greater convenience or lower costs.
Overall, the report concludes that the relationship between digitalisation and energy demand is more nuanced than often assumed. While the continued growth of data centres will increase electricity consumption in some areas, digital technologies can also deliver significant energy savings elsewhere, meaning the overall impact depends on the specific application and how digital services are used.