Cambridge Research: Energy consumption plummeted by 99.9% after Ethereum merger

Summary: Annual electricity consumption is much lower than pre-merger levels; node audits cover thousands of machines, supporting an estimated data of 7.87 GWh; the decline in electricity consumption has significantly reduced Ethereum carbon emissions.

Annual electricity consumption is much lower than pre-merger levels

Ethereum\'s current annual electricity consumption is approximately 7.87 GWh, a decrease of more than 99.9% from the pre-merger level. The Cambridge Alternative Financial Center based its estimate on audits of thousands of physical nodes, detailing changes in power demand since Ethereum moved to proof of equity.

The data of 7.87 GWh marks that Ethereum\'s peak electricity consumption during the proof-of-work mining period has dropped significantly. Before the merger, the network\'s continued power consumption was close to 2.4 GW, a level the report once described as \"comparable to the power needs of a small country.\" Today, in terms of continuous power, this figure is only about 0.90 MW.

In other words, Ethereum\'s current annual electricity consumption is less than half of the British Museum\'s annual consumption. The British Museum uses approximately 16.18 GWh of electricity every year, which means that Ethereum\'s carbon footprint is smaller than that of many single commercial buildings. This comparison helps to intuitively feel the decline in electricity consumption.

The researchers arrived at a data of 7.87 GWh by directly measuring actual power consumption rather than relying on theoretical assumptions. The team tested 20 different client combinations and compared the results with actual hosted data. This method yields a weighted average power consumption of the network of approximately 105 watts per node.

However, the average data masks actual power consumption differences in different configurations. The median power consumption of residential nodes is only 18 watts, while enterprise-level deployments at the workstation level are close to 152 watts. This gap reflects the diversity of hardware configuration among current Ethereum participants.

The node audit supporting the 7.87 GWh estimate covers thousands of machines

The electricity consumption data in the report is based on audits of approximately 8,522 physical nodes. This number is different from the number of verifiers in Ethereum, which is approximately 894,000, responsible for ensuring network security from an economic perspective. The report pointed out that these validators are \"different from the approximately 894,000 validators who financially secure the network,\" so the number of nodes is the relevant input to calculating energy consumption.

Geographical concentration has an impact on the final data of 7.87 GWh. The United States has 31% of all nodes, Germany 16%, Finland 8%, and France 6%. Together, these four countries account for approximately 62% of network node infrastructure.

The hosting environment is also a factor in calculating Ethereum\'s annual electricity consumption. About 36% of nodes run on residential hardware, and 64% run in cloud or data center environments. Hetzner, Amazon Cloud Services and OVH together host approximately 40% of audited nodes.

The concentration of client software further reveals the distribution of infrastructure. At the execution level, about 79% of nodes run Geth or Nethermind. Although this concentration does not directly change power consumption data, it will affect the distribution of power consumption among different suppliers.

Reduced electricity consumption significantly reduces Ethereum carbon emissions

The reduction in electricity consumption to 7.87 GWh has a direct impact on Ethereum\'s carbon emissions, which are currently estimated at 2.37 ktCO ˇ e per year. This is about 99.98% lower than pre-merger levels, and the report likened this emission reduction to \"the sum of the annual carbon footprint of approximately 900 British households.\"

Sustainable electricity sources provide approximately 56.4% of electricity consumption. Among them, renewable energy accounted for 39.4%, and nuclear energy accounted for 17.0%. Natural gas remains the single largest source, accounting for 27.7%, reflecting the base load power needs of major hosting countries.

To offset the emissions corresponding to Ethereum\'s 7.87 GWh carbon footprint, approximately 400 hectares of British woodland would be needed, which the report said was \"roughly equivalent to Wimbledon Commons.\" Buying carbon credits at current prices to cover all emissions costs between £ 25,000 and £ 55,000.

The report concluded that \"the main factor that determines the carbon footprint is now the power grid, not the agreement itself,\" and emphasized that local carbon intensity is the main remaining factor. Future research on stateless verification may further reduce hardware requirements. Such changes are expected to gradually expand network participation while maintaining Ethereum\'s annual electricity consumption low.

Key Data List

Ethereum\'s annual electricity consumption: 7.87 GWh, a decrease of more than 99.9% from before the merger. The CCAF audited 8,522 physical nodes and found that the weighted average power consumption of the network was 105 watts per node. The United States, Germany, Finland and France together host approximately 62% of all Ethereum nodes. Sustainable energy supplies 56.4% of Ethereum\'s electricity, which is higher than the global average of 43%.