The end of an era

Tuesday 6th July 2010 may have gone unnoticed by many people as just another Tuesday (apologies to those for whom it’s a major anniversary!), but for the development of Digital Britain it was something of a milestone.

This date is when it became officially impossible to buy a new analogue TV set from a UK retailer. With the final analogue TV switch-off scheduled for 2012, clearly the change had to come some time and apparently last month (June) no sale of an analogue TV took place anywhere in the UK.

So, what does this have to do with Green IT? Well, a number of things:

1. First of all, it shows that the pathway laid out in the Digital Britain report is on course (at least as far as TV is concerned).
2. It seems to suggest that there is a greater acceptance of digital technology than some feared, probably meaning that more digital devices of all kinds (TVs, TV and radio delivered through computers, internet access via computers games consoles, etc.) will find their way into people’s lives.
3. It is likely to generate a significant load on the waste electronics disposal industry – although the set top box converter has been a popular option, many people have bought new all-digital TVs, recorders and associated devices.
4. It may offer some pointers to the upcoming switch of radio to digital.

Collectively, items 1 and 2, suggest that there will be simply more IT-like devices in operation and their use will become more widespread, thus making it imperative that they operate as efficiently as they can, and calling for the need to understand just how much energy IT uses.

It is likely that the most effective energy saving solutions will be those which make use of the technology to automatically control device power, rather than expecting the human to remember to flick the off / standby switch. This has led to the interest in using IT systems to manage electricity consumption, part of “intelligent home” initiatives which also control heating and ventilation.

Item 3. poses challenges in the disposal of obsolete equipment. While the most obvious items are the large ones (the TV screen; the moulded plastic surrounds), remember that it’s not all TVs, there will also be analogue-enabled set top and associated devices. Also remember that central to most of these devices is a computer chip, microprocessor, call it what you will. While it might be theoretically possible that a microprocessor that used to control a DVD player could be reused – either in another DVD player or in another consumer device - almost all will actually be broken up to recover the metal content.

The planned switch to radio will create another wave of obsolete devices, but of a much broader range: in-car radios; radio alarms; multifunction devices (mobile phones with radio); personal entertainment systems; that old transistor radio you carry around in the garden … again, the demand on disposal will be great, but the likely profit in recovery will be much reduced.

Have we got the balance between reuse and reclaiming correct? Given that the consumer trend is for more frequent updating of the technology (HDTV, 3DTV …) should designers be building in reuse more than they currently do? As I stated above, Green IT has a big role to play in managing energy use, but how do we deploy and deliver it in a workable way, making it usable and effective without over complication?

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