Series, films, funny clips – streaming services are playing an increasingly important role in our everyday lives. However, energy is constantly consumed, often more than necessary. With these measures you save electricity when streaming.
Hardly anyone would want to do without watching films from the sofa, exactly when they feel like it. Or three seasons of your favorite series in a row. But streaming consumes a lot of energy – not only within your own four walls. This is how you can save electricity when using streaming services.
Save electricity when streaming
In order for films or series to run, data centers are required to store and make available audio and video content. However, these are also true energy guzzlers. One hour of video streaming in full HD resolution requires a total of 220 to 370 watt hours of electrical energy, depending on the end device used. That calculated that Berlin Borderstep Institute 2020. It can therefore make a real difference to the electricity bill if you implement a few measures when streaming.
Turn off auto play
If you want to do something good for your electricity bill and want to help streaming use less energy, you can start with a few clicks. The consumer advice center suggests turning off the autoplay function. Because it 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, the function can usually be easily switched off and thus save electricity.
Reduce picture quality and use small screens
In addition, it may not always have to be the highest image quality. If you lower the resolution a bit, for example to 720p or 480p instead of an HD resolution, you can still see a lot, but you save energy. This is very easy with YouTube, Netflix and Co. via the settings.
Basically, the bigger the screen, the more power it needs. Smaller screens, on the other hand, save electricity when streaming in comparison. So streaming short clips on the big TV isn’t the best idea.
Also interesting: tips for saving electricity in the household
Listen to music without videos or download it beforehand
Many use the video platform YouTube to listen to music because of its wide range. You can also see the music videos for the songs. However, this can often be dispensed with. Because streaming the video consumes more energy than a mere audio file. The advice of the consumer centers: It is better to use music streaming services to listen to music instead of video streaming.
The German Nature Conservation Union (Nabu) also advises: it is better to download music once and save it locally on your computer or smartphone. This is more economical than streaming music titles over and over again. If you also use your smartphone instead of your laptop, you can also save energy.
The same also applies to videos. You can download films or episodes of a series from Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and Co. and then watch them again and again. However, this requires more storage space.
Mobile data consumes more power
It is best to use WiFi or a LAN cable to stream videos. Because that consumes less energy than streaming with an Internet connection via mobile phone. This also saves data volume.