In any conversation about the benefits of 5G cellular service, it’s unlikely that anyone mentions solar 5G towers. On the other hand, the best-known benefit of 5G is its remarkable increases in speed versus 4G.
Still, solar 5G towers wouldn’t even be a second thought in the conversation. This is because faster speed is just one of 5Gs many amazing benefits. If you haven’t made the switch to 5G, you’re missing out on lower latency, higher reliability and better coverage due to is ability to connect with thousands of devices in a small area.
So why do we keep going on about solar 5G towers?
Solar 5G towers are part of one of the biggest benefits of 5G, and one that few people know about. 5G equipment is very energy efficient.
Depending on whose specifications you consult, 5G is credited with an approximate 90% reduction in energy use versus 4G. Much of the gain in efficiency happens at cellular base stations. They account for almost 60% of the energy consumptions of a cellular network. But only about 15% to 20% of that energy consumption went to transferring data, the main function of the station.
The remaining energy was lost to heat generation, equipment that kept power on while it wasn’t in use and poor cooling systems and batteries.
The Energy Reduction Benefits of 5G
5G couldn’t have come at a better time. While cellular networks are considered almost universal, projections for short-term growth are show massive increases. While cellular coverage may be available in even remote locations, the number of deices they support is where the growth is happening. Forbes predicts there will be 100 billion connections to over 40 billion devices by 2025. And research from cellular giant Huawei says data traffic will grow 600% in emerging economies and 300% in developed markets.
It all means the energy reduction benefits of 5G will be very welcome. And, perhaps best of all, it can produce notable downstream reductions in energy use for those industries that use it.
Automatic Shutdown
5Gs wireless cells can automatically shutdown in the absence of data traffic. This 5G feature alone accounts for a 40% reduction in energy consumption at cellular base stations.
Doing More With Less
Its faster processing power alone results in reduced energy consumption. The changes in how 5G processes cellular communications and the behaviour that’s enabled by faster, higher-capacity networks, means less energy use on a ‘per connection’ basis.
5Gs ‘Enabling’ Effect
With the capacity to increase the use of cloud computing, virtualization, AI-enabled analytics and edge computing, 5G helps all its users save energy. Recent case studies, tracking instances of 5G-enabled systems being used to measure and analyze energy use include.
- 20% reduction in the number of vehicles in a police force’s fleet.
- 5% to 15% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from bank branch energy use
- The ability to track energy consumption in individual cement plant processes, contributing to an overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the entire plant.
Co-Locating on Solar 5G Towers
Lower energy consumption makes solar cellular towers a more attractive option. But the straight-line savings in energy use that produces is just the first benefit. 5G also allows different cellular operators to use the same tower. So every operator does not need to maintain – and use energy – for exclusive-use towers.
If you enjoyed this post, check out our recent article Why End-User Technology is More Important than Ever.