Reduce Network Energy Costs Without Replacing Infrastructure

Energy costs are now one of the largest operational pressures facing network operators. For many organisations, finding ways to reduce network energy costs has become a priority across telecom, data centre, and enterprise environments.

Whether it’s telecom infrastructure, data centres, or enterprise networks, the cost of powering and cooling equipment continues to rise. According to the International Energy Agency, energy demand from digital infrastructure is increasing as data consumption and compute requirements continue to grow.

At the same time, operators must scale capacity, maintain uptime, and meet sustainability targets. However, doing all three simultaneously is becoming increasingly difficult. As a result, organisations are under pressure to reduce network energy costs without increasing capital expenditure.

The default response has often been to upgrade to newer, more energy-efficient hardware. While this can improve performance per watt, it is not always the most effective or commercially viable approach when viewed across the entire lifecycle of the network.

Why Replacing Equipment Doesn’t Always Reduce Network Energy Costs

Vendors typically market new hardware as more efficient, and in many cases this is true on a per-unit basis. However, full-scale replacement introduces a number of challenges that can offset these gains.

• High upfront capital expenditure, particularly across large estates
• Long OEM lead times, which can delay projects and upgrades
• Significant embodied carbon from manufacturing and transport
• Operational risk and disruption during migration

In practice, teams often deploy equipment with future growth in mind, which leaves large portions of capacity unused. As a result, replacing infrastructure without addressing utilisation often delivers only marginal efficiency gains at a disproportionately high cost.

Therefore, reducing network energy costs requires a more targeted and operationally grounded approach.

Where Network Energy Consumption Comes From

In practice, energy inefficiency in networks rarely comes from age alone. Instead, it typically results from a combination of operational and hardware-related factors.

1. Underutilised Infrastructure

Network equipment consumes a baseline level of power regardless of utilisation. This means devices running at 20–30% capacity can still draw a significant proportion of their peak power, turning unused capacity directly into wasted energy.

2. Degraded Components

Over time, components such as power supplies, capacitors, and cooling systems degrade. As a result, inefficient or failing PSUs draw more power than expected, while thermal degradation increases operating temperatures and reduces overall efficiency.

3. Poor Lifecycle Visibility

Without clear insight into failure trends and performance degradation, teams often replace equipment prematurely or continue running inefficient systems. This leads to unnecessary capital expenditure and higher ongoing energy costs.

Simple Ways to Reduce Network Energy Costs Immediately

Importantly, not every improvement requires significant investment. In many cases, practical maintenance and optimisation steps deliver immediate and measurable reductions in energy consumption.

1. Cleaning Dust from Equipment

Dust build-up is one of the most common and overlooked issues in network environments. As dust accumulates, it restricts airflow through the chassis and increases internal temperatures.

Consequently, cooling systems work harder, fan speeds increase, and overall power consumption rises. Regular cleaning helps maintain airflow and reduces unnecessary energy usage.

2. Ensuring Proper Airflow

Airflow management plays a critical role in efficiency. For example, blocked vents, poor rack layout, and unmanaged cabling disrupt cooling pathways and force equipment to operate at higher temperatures.

As a result, even small improvements in airflow can reduce cooling demand and improve energy efficiency.

3. Maintaining Cooling Efficiency

Hardware operating outside optimal temperature ranges becomes less efficient over time. Therefore, maintaining effective cooling systems and environmental control helps prevent unnecessary energy draw.

4. Right-Sizing Your Infrastructure

Teams often deploy network equipment with significantly more capacity than required. For example, a 48-port switch may only be partially utilised, yet it still consumes most of its power budget.

Reviewing utilisation helps identify opportunities to consolidate workloads, decommission unused equipment, and align capacity with demand. In some cases, moving to a 24-port switch reduces power consumption without affecting performance.

However, teams should always balance this with resilience and future growth requirements.

5. Removing Unused Pluggables

Unused optics and interface modules are frequently left installed long after they are needed. While individual modules consume small amounts of power, their cumulative impact across a network becomes significant.

• SFP modules typically consume around 1W
• SFP+ modules around 1–2W
• QSFP modules can range from 3–5W or more

As a result, removing unused pluggables reduces power consumption, lowers heat output, and improves airflow within the chassis.

A More Effective Strategy to Reduce Network Energy Costs

Beyond these immediate fixes, reducing network energy costs requires a shift in mindset. Rather than defaulting to replacement, operators should focus on extending, optimising, and selectively upgrading infrastructure.

Extend the Life of Existing Equipment

Repair and refurbishment restore equipment to expected operating efficiency without the energy and cost associated with manufacturing new hardware.

In many cases, you can keep equipment in service for significantly longer than OEM support cycles suggest.

Optimise What You Already Have

Using repair data and operational insight, teams can identify recurring faults and inefficiencies. Addressing these proactively improves both reliability and energy performance.

Reduce Unnecessary Replacement

Not every failure requires replacement. Instead, targeted repair often resolves issues quickly and cost-effectively while avoiding unnecessary disruption.

Consider Refurbished as a Smarter Upgrade Path

Refurbished network equipment provides a practical alternative when upgrades are required.

A generation below current models often delivers better efficiency than legacy equipment already deployed. At the same time, it avoids the delays associated with OEM supply chains.

This approach supports a circular economy approach, keeping equipment in use for longer through repair, reuse, and refurbishment.

The Role of Repair in Energy Reduction

Repair directly improves energy efficiency. Issues such as PSU inefficiency, capacitor failure, fan degradation, and thermal problems all increase energy consumption over time.

By addressing these at component level, teams restore equipment to expected efficiency without replacing entire systems. As a result, they also avoid the energy footprint associated with manufacturing new hardware.

Call to Action

If you want to understand where your network may be consuming more energy than necessary, Comtek can help.

We work with operators to assess infrastructure, identify inefficiencies, and highlight practical opportunities to reduce network energy costs without full replacement.

Speak to the team and identify opportunities to reduce your network energy costs

Frequently Asked Questions

Can reducing network energy costs impact performance?

No. In most cases, optimisation improves both performance and stability by addressing inefficiencies and degraded components.

Is refurbished equipment reliable?

Yes. When properly tested and validated, refurbished equipment is widely used in production environments and offers a reliable alternative to new hardware.

Where should we start?

Start with utilisation analysis, airflow optimisation, and removing unused equipment. These steps provide immediate insight into where energy savings can be achieved.

Conclusion

Reducing network energy costs does not always require large-scale investment or infrastructure replacement.

Ultimately, the most effective approach is to optimise what already exists, extend the life of equipment, and make more informed decisions about when and how to upgrade.