In the last year, due to COVID-19, we’ve had to keep ourselves entertained at home, from binge-watching Netflix shows to baking, and playing endless hours of computer games – naturally, this has increased our energy bills. So, how can the eco-conscious make energy-efficient choices and also improve their carbon footprint?
Research by Uswitch has revealed what home-entertainment uses more energy compared to streaming our fave shows.
Should you choose a period-drama over a war game?
Binge-watching eight hours of Bridgerton uses the same amount of energy as just three hours on a gaming console, meaning if you opt for a period-drama over a war game, then you’d get 167% more entertainment time for the same cost.
Speaking to friends vs binge-watching your favourite show?
A large series like Riverdale would take three whole days to binge-watch, but in comparison to speaking with your friends and family using live video platform, Zoom, it would cost you the same energy to Zoom call for just 3.1 hours.
Baking vs television
The banana bread became the ‘go-to’ bake in 2020, as searches increased by 525 per cent last April. If you’re torn between watching a show like The Queen’s Gambit or baking, the energy used to watch it wouldn’t even be enough to cook one banana bread.
On a larger scale, the Netflix series Mad Men runs for a total of 92 hours. In the time it would take you to watch every episode, it would cost you the same in energy bake eight banana breads!
Energy equivalent to making a brew
We wouldn’t dream of putting the kettle on more than a few times a day (depends on how much you like a brew), but actually, this can be the equivalent of making a cuppa 76 times a day:
- Streaming every episode of The Walking Dead is equivalent in energy costs to boiling the kettle 76 times
- Black Mirror marathon? You can make 11 cups of tea for the same energy cost as binge-watching 21 hours of Black Mirror
Will Owen, Energy Expert at Uswitch.com discusses how we can use this information to make eco-conscious decisions at home.
“Since we’re all spending more time at home, this research enables us to make informed and eco-conscious decisions to reduce our energy consumption as a household.
“If one day we’re torn over how to keep ourselves entertained, whether that’s deciding which Netflix show to binge-watch, playing on a games console, or baking for hours, this enables us to make energy-conscious decisions over our technology consumption. As a result, this will help us to use less power and save money while contributing to improving the environment.”
Photo by John-Mark Smith on Pexels.com
