When we talk about the current technology we often think of tablets, smartphones, digital cameras, etc. These are the things that define our generation.

Energy consumption and the proliferation of electronic devices are connected. It is not a coincidence that the rapid rise of electricity consumption and demand occur during the times when more mobile devices are being sold.

Why is it important to talk about electric consumption when we talk about these gadgets? Practically-speaking, our devices are all powered by commercial electricity.

Too many gadgets?

The first decade of the 21th century saw many developments that only a few of us imagined to take place. Technological competition resulted in “high-tech” devices.

Before we dig deeper in the connection between the increase in electric consumption and in the rise in the number of devices that are being activated and used, let me provide some background info about the global energy consumption.

How much electricity do our devices consume?

It is estimated by the International Energy Agency that information and communication technologies (ICT) and consumer electronics (CE) consumer electronics accounts for 15% of the global residential electric consumption.

There is an estimated rapid increase in the consumption in the period starting from 1990 to 2030. Energy consumption of these devices is estimated to double by 2022 and triple by 2030.

The total energy consumption will be equivalent to the current combined residential electric consumption of and US and Japan (equivalent to $200B).

Do we have a lot of gadgets?

Smartphones are in-demand now.

This first quarter of 2012 alone, a total of around 145 million phones were sold. Early this year, Samsung (46.1 million) overtook Apple (35.1 million), in terms of sales.

In the US

According to Nielsen, 46% of those who use mobile phones have smartphones. According to a Pew Internet Project survey in February 2012, 46% of adults have a smartphone while for those 25 – 34 years old, 71% owns at least one.

In Europe

Germany, Italy, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom have 44% (104 million) of the total activated smartphones in the world as of December 2011, according to comScore. According to the International Data Corp., 28.2 million smartphones were sold in Western Europe alone in the first quarter of this year.

More gadgets in the future

We expect to have more devices in the future. According to IDC, it is projected that the smartphone sales this year will reach 686 million. By 2015, it will be 982 million. Furthermore, the projection from IMS Research, states that smartphones will reach 1 billion by 2016.

There are still other reports and projections. Most of them, if not all, points to the trend that smartphone sales will drastically increase in the next 3 – 4 years.

Closing thoughts

It seems that more and more devices will be activated, which will result in more energy consumption. Advancements in technology are expected to cancel out the increase in electric consumption because of ICT devices. However, with the massive increase in the number of devices being used, the electric consumption technological advancements will not be able to cope – my opinion.

In this article, Ric explores the topic of electric consumption. How much do we consume because of our gadgets? Find more of this posts at Divorce Boca Raton and Divorce Delray Beach.