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We make the IoT work – for a better and greener future

As market leader in IoT systems, we are driving the green and digital transformation towards a net zero economy. Discover how we can use green IoT for a better and greener tomorrow.

Internet of Things
Home and living
Article

Jul 12, 2025

The IoT - decarbonization enabler or energy guzzler?

The world is facing major challenges. At the forefront of these is the climate crisis, driven by rising global energy consumption, rapid growth in the world's population, and the ever-accelerating pace of urbanization and digitalization. All these challenges have one thing in common: they have an enormous impact on global energy consumption patterns. 

Digital transformation and – by extension – the Internet of Things (IoT) are changing the way we live, work, produce, travel, and consume. Let’s take remote work as an example: The shift to remote work has been accelerated by digital transformation, with IoT devices facilitating seamless communication, virtual collaboration, and remote access to work-related data. This has fundamentally changed the way we work and collaborate in various areas.

Yes, the IoT has huge economic potential, but also a significant climate impact due to the billions of interconnected devices that require energy to function. And as digitalization reaches into more and more areas of our lives, our carbon footprint expands accordingly. 

Digitalization and energy transition can go hand in hand

But the good news is that intelligent IoT technologies are already being used today to introduce green practices, organize processes and use resources responsibly. There are already numerous innovative solutions in the areas of smart factories, smart homes and buildings as well as smart cities. Let’s take a closer look.

Green smart factories and industrial processes of the future

green urban building
green urban building
green urban building

According to the IEA's Global Energy Review 2025, the industrial sector accounted for almost 40% of the total growth in electricity demand in 2024. Electricity consumption in the industrial sector rose by almost 4% in 2024, more than in 2023, due to increased activity in electricity-intensive manufacturing and the growth of industry in general.1

Innovative smart IoT applications cannot only increase efficiency, but also minimize downtime, extend the lifetime of machines and plants, and increase resource efficiency. Smart IoT can shorten delivery journeys and delivery times, and thus contribute to reductions in CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. It can also enable more climate-friendly production methods.

1 Source: IEA (2025), Global Energy Review 2025; https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2025/electricity

man with tablet in smart factory
man with tablet in smart factory
man with tablet in smart factory
Resource-efficient production using data effectively and in real-time

Today, digitalization and data technologies are balancing both sustainability gains with cost improvements. Digitalization now enables manufacturing companies to sustainably design and optimize their processes with technologies like industrial automation, reliable networking and industrial sensor solutions.

Solutions for the smart industry
highway through landscape from bird's eye view
highway through landscape from bird's eye view
highway through landscape from bird's eye view
Environmentally conscious fleet management for optimized routes and ressource saving

Transport and logistics companies are under pressure to make sure their fleet-related decisions take environmental and climate impacts into consideration.IoT sensors provide insights to better optimize routes, improve driving behaviors, and ensure timely vehicle maintenance to reduce emissions produced by a fleet.

Sensors
predictive maintanance
predictive maintanance
predictive maintanance
Predictive maintenance techniques support resource-efficient production

Data collected in smart factories enables predictive maintenance and the huge potential it offers for cost, energy, and resource efficiency gains. Building on sensor data, predictive maintenance uses advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to predict machine failures or anticipate maintenance needs at the right time.

Predictive maintenance
highway through landscape from bird's eye view
highway through landscape from bird's eye view
highway through landscape from bird's eye view
Smart semiconductors for energy-efficient industrial automation

Industrial automation is the essential driver for efficiency in global productivity; a growing number of smart factories all over the world increasingly rely on automation. At its core, industrial automation helps companies use all resources for manufacturing and other value-generating processes as efficiently as possible – from base materials to energy.

Industrial automation

The green power of smart homes and buildings

green power for smart homes
green power for smart homes
green power for smart homes

The transition towards a greener future also calls on households and building operators to adopt more eco-friendly practices. The buildings sector drove higher electricity demand in 2024, growing four times faster than in 2023, according to IEA’s Global Energy Review 2025. Key drivers included rising demand for air conditioning, which was bolstered by severe heatwaves in countries such as China and India, and demand for power from new data centres2.

Green IoT technology solutions can help make a home or building smart and energy-efficient, balancing technological advances with sustainability. For example, building management solutions can identify areas in use, ensuring that specific functions like lighting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning are only activated on demand. Digitalization and automation technologies can also reduce maintenance effort and working hours, while extending the service life of HVAC and lighting equipment.

2) Source: IEA (2025), Global Energy Review 2025; https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2025/electricity

Man using samrt home panel
Man using samrt home panel
Man using samrt home panel
Smart thermostat with digital interface helps save energy

A smart thermostat can be a powerful tool to save energy and money as it is a crucial component in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Modern systems are (remotely) programmable, compute usage patterns, learn from the habits of users, and react to their surroundings. In the end, they lower energy consumption and emissions.

Smart thermostat
HAVC systmes
HAVC systmes
HAVC systmes
Modern HVAC systems for smart and efficient cooling

Smart air conditioners offer more than just being quiet. They include the ability to measure the temperature, CO2 concentration, and air quality. They automatically decide when it’s necessary to provide fresh, cool air. And thanks to machine learning, they adapt to the user's preferences and provide health check data for manufacturer support.

Residential air conditioning
presence detections
presence detections
presence detections
Presence detection for greater energy-efficiency in homes and buildings

Few areas offer as much potential for energy savings as lighting. Thanks to efficient LED light sources, effective sensors and optimized use of daylight, electricity consumption for lighting can be dramatically reduced. If combined with smart presence detection, lights can also be turned on or off automatically when needed.

Presence detection
HAVC systmes
HAVC systmes
HAVC systmes
Smart solutions for quieter and more energy-efficient appliances

State-of-the art home appliances are connected, smart, efficient and make the consumers chores as easy as never before. Infineon’s components and system solutions will bring this intelligence to your smart and connected home appliances to sense, control and securely connect them – for greater energy efficiency in smart homes.

Smart home appliances

Embracing the IoT revolution

Let's join forces in embracing the IoT revolution to pave the way for a greener, more sustainable future. By leveraging the power of technology, we have the opportunity to drive innovative solutions that combat climate change and promote eco-friendly practices. Through the thoughtful integration of IoT across industries and in our daily lives, we can collectively work towards a world where efficiency, responsibility, and environmental consciousness intertwine to create a brighter tomorrow.