An environmental assessment method for wireless sensor networks

Although Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are presented today as a chance for sustainability, further research is needed to understand the extent of their environmental impacts. Essentially, little research has been done on the environmental impact of ICT infrastructures. Environmental analysis of ICT infrastructures thus still face some methodological problems which are dealt with in this paper, notably in the case of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). We provide a method to analyze WSN in an environmental perspective, which clarifies two important issues concerning the definition of the system lifecycle and the synergic behaviour of its elements. This method is applied to a concrete case, results are generated and eco-design alternatives are presented and evaluated. The results show the importance of adopting a system level perspective while performing environmental assessment of ICT. This perspective help determine the most influential system parameters, bringing broader understanding and eco-design perspectives.

BONVOISIN Jeremy;  LELAH Alan;  MATHIEUX Fabrice;  BRISSAUD Daniel; 

2013-01-14

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

JRC67064

0959-6526,   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC67064,   

10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.04.016,