The idea
Switches, routers, and firewalls may look similar on paper, but under the hood, their energy profiles vary significantly. Some older or lower-efficiency models can consume up to twice as much power as newer equivalents while delivering the same performance.
Instead of jumping into costly hardware refreshes across the board, smart IT teams are focusing on identifying the worst offenders — and replacing those first. This targeted replacement strategy maximizes efficiency while keeping costs in check.
Why it matters
Full infrastructure renewals are expensive and often unnecessary. But keeping legacy or energy-hungry hardware in place can silently inflate your operational costs year after year.
Some of the impacts include:
- Excessive baseline power consumption
- Reduced compatibility with power-saving protocols
- Heat output that increases cooling demand
- Decreased visibility into energy performance
Replacing even a small number of high-consumption devices can lead to measurable improvements — especially when deployed in high-traffic or always-on network segments.
What you can do
- Inventory your network hardware by model, age, and location.
- Compare energy usage (if available) between models.
- Focus on identifying:
- Devices without energy-saving modes
- Units consistently operating at low utilization but high power draw
- Older models not supported by modern energy protocols (like EEE or 802.3az)
- Prioritize replacement of outliers where energy savings offset investment cost within 12–24 months.
Bonus tip
Before rushing to replace, check if your existing devices support eco modes, firmware updates, or port sleep options. Some vendors release energy-optimized firmware that can lower consumption significantly without hardware swaps. It’s a quick win that’s often overlooked.
How ZeroNet helps
ZeroNet gives you model-level visibility across your entire network infrastructure. It doesn’t just track whether a device is active — it tells you how efficiently it’s operating based on real-time behavior and power patterns. ZeroNet highlights hardware that consumes more than expected for its workload, enabling smart replacement decisions and helping you simulate potential energy savings before taking action.