In order for films or series to run, data centers are necessary that store and make available audio and video content. And they are true energy eaters. One hour of video streaming in Full HD resolution requires a total of 220 to 370 watt-hours of electrical energy, depending on the device used. This was calculated by the Berlin Borderstep Institute in 2020.
Turn off autoplay
If you want to do something good for your electricity bill and want to help streaming consume less energy, you can start with a few clicks. For example, by using the autoplay function, according to the consumer centers.
Because this causes the next video to start automatically, which you might not want to watch at all. With streaming services, on social media platforms and in the browser, you can often turn off the function – and you should also do this to save energy.
In addition, it may not always have to be the highest image quality. If you lower the resolution a little, for example to 720p or 480p instead of HD resolution, you can still see a lot, but save energy.
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And when listening to music, you can often do without the video altogether. Because streaming the video consumes more energy than a mere audio file. The Council of consumer centers: to listen to music, it is better to resort to music streaming services instead of video streaming.
Use devices with a smaller screen
The Nature Conservation Association of Germany (Nabu) also advises: Download music once and save it locally on your computer or smartphone. This is more economical than streaming music over and over again. If you also use the smartphone instead of the laptop, you can also save energy.
Because basically the following applies: Devices with large screens need more power than small devices. So streaming clips on the big TV is not the best idea.
In addition, it is best to use the WLAN or the LAN cable for streaming. Because this consumes less energy than when you stream with an Internet connection over the mobile phone.
