research-article

Environmental impact of IEEE 802.11 access points: a case study

Author:

Biplab SikdarAuthors Info & Claims

ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review, Volume 38, Issue 3

Pages 66 - 70

https://doi.org/10.1145/1925019.1925033

Published: 03 January 2011 Publication History

Abstract

Wireless local area networks have become an ubiquitous means for network access in both residential and commercial locations over the recent past. Given their widespread deployment, it is of importance to understand their environmental impact and this paper presents a life cycle assessment of the energy intensity of IEEE 802.11 wireless access points. Following a cradle-to-grave approach, we evaluate the energy consumed in the manufacture of access points (including the extraction of raw materials, component manufacturing, assembly, and transportation) as well as during its actual usage. Our results show that the manufacturing stage is responsible for a significant fraction of the overall energy consumption. In light of our findings, increasing the overall lifetime is one of the recommended ways to reduce the environmental impact of access points.

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Cited By

Andrae A(2016)Life-Cycle Assessment of Consumer Electronics: A review of methodological approachesIEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine10.1109/MCE.2015.24846395:1(51-60)Online publication date: Jan-2016
https://doi.org/10.1109/MCE.2015.2484639
Gómez PElduque DSarasa JPina CJavierre C(2015)Influence of the material composition on the environmental impact of surface-mount device (SMD) transistorsJournal of Cleaner Production10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.063107(722-730)Online publication date: Nov-2015
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.063
Elduque DJavierre CPina CMartínez EJiménez E(2014)Life cycle assessment of a domestic induction hob: electronic boardsJournal of Cleaner Production10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.04.00976(74-84)Online publication date: Aug-2014
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.04.009

Index Terms

Environmental impact of IEEE 802.11 access points: a case study
1. Hardware
  1. Communication hardware, interfaces and storage
2. Social and professional topics
  1. Computing / technology policy

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Published In

cover image ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review

ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review Volume 38, Issue 3

December 2010

84 pages

ISSN:0163-5999

DOI:10.1145/1925019

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Copyright © 2011 Author.

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 03 January 2011

Published in SIGMETRICS Volume 38, Issue 3

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Cited By

Andrae A(2016)Life-Cycle Assessment of Consumer Electronics: A review of methodological approachesIEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine10.1109/MCE.2015.24846395:1(51-60)Online publication date: Jan-2016
https://doi.org/10.1109/MCE.2015.2484639
Gómez PElduque DSarasa JPina CJavierre C(2015)Influence of the material composition on the environmental impact of surface-mount device (SMD) transistorsJournal of Cleaner Production10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.063107(722-730)Online publication date: Nov-2015
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.063
Elduque DJavierre CPina CMartínez EJiménez E(2014)Life cycle assessment of a domestic induction hob: electronic boardsJournal of Cleaner Production10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.04.00976(74-84)Online publication date: Aug-2014
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.04.009

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