The Myth Versus the Reality
It sometimes seems as though the demand for data centers is growing primarily to store misinformation about data centers themselves. One of the most common claims I hear is: “Data centers are using all of our electricity.” Let’s look at the facts and put those concerns in context.
Putting Data Center Energy Use in Context
Data centers do use a lot of electricity—but far less than most people think. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that all US data centers combined accounted for 4.4 percent of total electricity consumption in 2023. In other words, more than 95 percent of US electricity is used elsewhere. The single largest category—residential heating and cooling—accounts for 19.4 percent, more than four times the amount used by data centers.
Lighting in commercial and industrial businesses consumes roughly twice as much power as data centers, while commercial refrigeration uses nearly one and a half times as much. Against that backdrop, data center electricity usage represents a relatively small share of overall consumption.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Zorn advises businesses, trade associations, and governments on the community impacts of critical infrastructure. Previously, he spent over 20 years at the US Food and Drug Administration working on food safety, nutrition, risk assessment, and public health, ultimately serving as Director of Social Sciences. He has published papers on food safety, risk assessment, and data quality. He earned a PhD in Economics from George Mason University.
