With my trusty air conditioner set to a heroic 18 degrees, I bravely tried to withstand the fury of Delhi’s 40-degree inferno. I believed I was winning the battle. But then, like a traitor in my own camp, I felt a burst of warm air suddenly approach me.Turns out my laptop, charger, smart phone and refrigerator had joined forces to form the League of Internal Heat Sources, quietly undoing my AC’s hard work. My room had basically turned into a tech-powered sauna. The AC was out there, fighting a war. Even as my fridge, laptop and other ‘cool-looking’ electronic equipment were hosting a barbecue.The most frequently reported causes of global warming are industry, mining, deforestation, automobiles, and the widespread use of air conditioners. There is no doubt that these sources have a major role in the global warming trend. But a sometimes-disregarded component is considerably closer to home in this digital age: the electrical appliances and gadgets we use on a daily basis. Devices ranging from computers and cell phones to refrigerators and televisions not only consume energy but also emit heat into their surrounding spaces, although in modest amounts on an individual basis but in large quantities when combined. Their ‘heat footprint’Electrical energy is used by every electronic device that runs. Some of this energy is transformed into useful work, such as playing a video or running software, and some of it is released as heat. A typical laptop, for instance, produces between 15 and 45 watts of heat when used regularly. This may not seem like much. But if you think about an office building with 50 workers, that means up to 2,250 watts (2.25 kW) of heat are continuously produced during working hours. Which is the same as running a small room heater.Smartphones, despite their small size, also play a role. A study titled An Analysis of Power Consumption in a Smartphone by Josh Hildreband notes that a phone can produce 2-6 watts of heat when it is under load, such as when playing games or making video calls. This aligns with observations that smartphones, when performing intensive tasks like gaming or making video calls, can generate significant amounts of heat. For example, the Snapdragon 888 mobile processor can consume between 3.2 and 4 watts under load, leading to noticeable heat generation. The stats become even more concerning when you multiply this by the millions of consumers worldwide. Hundreds of megawatts of heat are produced nationwide if even one-third of them are used actively during the day.Refrigerators are machines that defy logic. They do this by releasing heat into their surroundings, even while their interiors stay frozen. The average refrigerator uses between 100 and 800 watts of electricity and emits almost the same amount of heat into the living room or kitchen. Large-screen, high-definition televisions in particular can consume 100 to 400 watts, much of which is converted to heat.Other household electronics such as gaming consoles, microwave ovens, routers, washing machines, and dryers contribute as well. According to a 2020 study by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the average home appliance energy consumption accounts for about 25-30 per cent of total household electricity use in developed countries, with a large portion of that converting directly into heat.The heat produced by electronics particularly builds up in urban residential and commercial structures, which have inadequate ventilation, or in buildings constructed with heat-retaining materials like concrete and glass. As interior temperatures rise, people use air conditioners to be comfortable. Air conditioners cool the interior while warming the exterior by drawing heat from the air within and releasing it outdoors. This is where the compounded issue resides.An estimated 117 million metric tons of carbon dioxide are released each year by air conditioners in the United States, which use around six per cent of all power generated, according to the US Department of Energy. Because of year-round use, the numbers are considerably more extreme in warmer regions like West Asia or India. Furthermore, the majority of air conditioners continue to use refrigerants such as hydrofluorocarbons, which are strong greenhouse gases (GHGs) with global warming potentials thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide.Thus, the use of electronics not only directly heats up rooms but also drives increased dependence on cooling systems, creating a self-reinforcing feedback loop that adds to global warming. Electronic waste and manufacturing emissionsThe manufacturing and disposal of electronic equipment add to the planet’s thermal burden, in addition to the heat generated during operation. Large volumes of GHGs are released during the rare earth element mining process, circuit board manufacturing, and gadget assembly. Over 53.6 million metric tons of e-waste were produced worldwide in 2021, according to a report from the United Nations University. A large amount of this material was burned or disposed of incorrectly, which released harmful toxins and heat into the atmosphere.Impact of anthropogenic heat on urban climate, a study in Tokyo, shows that areas with dense concentrations of electronics, such as tech offices and shopping districts, have higher localised temperatures than residential zones—an effect known as ‘anthropogenic heat’. In a 2018 study published in Nature Communications, it was estimated that anthropogenic heat contributes up to 15per cent of urban warming in certain megacities.Recognising and addressing the cumulative effect of electrical gadgets on indoor and outdoor temperatures is crucial in our increasingly technologically advanced and digital environment. Each device could appear to have a small thermal footprint when used alone. But when taken as a whole, they significantly influence the current thermal environment. Smarter design, more effective cooling infrastructure, and a change to energy-conscious behaviours are all necessary to tackle this issue.So, the next time your room feels like a toaster, don’t just blame the sun—your gadgets might be throwing a surprise heat party. Maybe it’s time we give our ACs a break, our devices a nap, and ourselves a cool drink... or at least a fan that doesn’t judge..Trishna Sarkar is Assistant Professor (Department of Economics) at Dr BR Ambedkar College, University of DelhiViews expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth