We are often asked why we don’t list broadband routers in Sust-it’s energy efficiency rankings; the simple answers is that manufacturers tend not to publish any energy usage figures, and are unfortunately not obliged to do so!
The main issue with modem routers is that they are on all the time, 24/7 consuming electricity. So how much electricity do they consume? We did a simple test with our BT home hub 2, which is installed in millions of homes across the UK. This router uses 8 watts per hour, that’s 70.08 KWh’s a year, which adds up to £9.24!
BT has 28% of the UK broadband market*, that’s over 5m customers, consuming £45m worth of electricity every year!
British Telecom are addressing this with their New Home Hub for broadband introduced in 2011, this requires a third less power than previous models, according to BT, as it adjusts power consumption based on use. That still means it costing over £6 a year to run. Whilst this doesn’t sound much on an individual basis, thinking about it on a global scale means a lot of energy being used.
* Source ofcom
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