Green Computing

What is Green Computing?

Within Computer Science, which covers algorithms, programming, data, networks, hardware and safe, responsible use of technology, this topic explains Green Computing. Computing topics explain how software, hardware and data work, with diagrams and models that show each step in order.

Check that you can explain Green Computing in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.

Understanding Green Computing helps you design, test and explain programs, websites and systems, from small projects to exam questions.

Green Computing in detail

Green computing aims to reduce the environmental impact of technology. Data centres, devices and networks use large amounts of electricity, and making computers uses raw materials and creates e-waste, containing toxic substances, much of which is not recycled.

Ways to reduce impact include energy-efficient hardware and power-saving settings, turning devices off, using renewable energy for data centres, extending the life of devices through repair and reuse, recycling e-waste responsibly, cloud computing to share resources and designing efficient software. Technology can also help the environment, through smart grids, monitoring and modelling climate.

How the interactive helps you understand Green Computing

Watch the cycle in the interactive. Use any sliders or buttons it offers to change the values and see how the cycle responds.

Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Green Computing.

Real-life uses and examples

• Trace through a process that uses Green Computing to check what it does step by step.
• Recognise Green Computing in an app or device you use every day.
• Apply Green Computing when you design a small program, website or spreadsheet.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Testing only the normal case and forgetting the edge cases.
• Using the term without being able to say what the computer actually does.
• Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.