Ethereum's energy consumption plummets after merge, far lower than Bitcoin by tens of thousands of times, equivalent to Cambridge University's 16 days of electricity consumption

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at the University of Cambridge has released a new tool, including the Cryptoasset Benchmarking Study (CBNSI) Sustainability Index and Ethereum's post-merge energy consumption data. If Ethereum's energy consumption were visualized, Bitcoin's electricity usage would be equivalent to the height of the world's second tallest building, Merdeka 118 at 679 meters, while Ethereum would be like a small raspberry fruit, approximately 1.5 centimeters in size.

Ethereum: From Inception to Merge = Switzerland's Annual Energy Consumption

According to the CCAF's statistics, Ethereum's energy consumption from 2015 to the pre-merge period in 2022 was estimated. The image on the far right shows the "annualized energy consumption estimate as of September 14, 2022, at 21.41 TWh," with the total pre-merge energy consumption of Ethereum estimated at 58.26 TWh.

This figure is equivalent to Switzerland's annual energy consumption of 54.88 TWh, and the annualized energy consumption is also close to the estimates of other institutions, except for Digiconomist:

• McDonald K.: 21.42 TWh

• Digiconomist: 77.77 TWh

• Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute CCRI: 21.99 TWh

Ethereum's Energy Consumption Plummets by 99.99%

In 2021, Ethereum researcher carlbeek.eth wrote an article predicting a -99.95% decrease in energy consumption after transitioning to Proof of Stake (PoS).

Cambridge University's data further indicates that the actual energy reduction is -99.99%.

• Pre-merge: 2.44 GW

• Post-merge: 0.000 671 GW

If visualizing Ethereum's post-merge energy consumption in terms of buildings, it would be like:

• Bitcoin: The second tallest building in the world, Malaysia's Merdeka 118, at 679 meters.

• Pre-merge Ethereum: London Eye Ferris wheel, 135 meters.

• Post-merge Ethereum: A raspberry, 1.5 centimeters.

Ethereum's Annual Energy Consumption = Cambridge University's 16 Days of Electricity

The CCAF website also presents further comparisons of Ethereum's energy consumption, with Ethereum's post-merge annual energy consumption being roughly equivalent to:

• Meeting Cambridge University's total power needs for 16 days

• The annual electricity consumption of 559 air conditioners

• The average annual electricity consumption of 1,628 UK households

• Powering a Tesla Cybertruck for 14.1 million miles

Ethereum's Energy Consumption Expected to Increase

The CCAF indicates that their research suggests Ethereum's energy consumption will continue to rise.

Between December 12, 2021, and April 11, 2023, the number of Ethereum nodes has increased by 266%, from 3,247 to 11,892. The annual energy consumption has also risen from 1.78 GWh to 6.49 GWh.

Furthermore, the CCAF emphasizes that electricity consumption does not fully capture all of Ethereum network's carbon footprint, such as computer-related greenhouse gas emissions, etc.