Designing Electronics’ Lifespans

🌱 What do the life cycles of electronics look like?

“The life cycle of the parts or components from which electronic or electric devices are made can generally be broken down into six phases or stages”.[i] These are the “introduction, growth (or market acceptance), maturity (i.e. high-volume sales), decline (i.e. decreasing demand and profit margins), phase-out (i.e. setting an end date on production), and discontinuance.”[ii] Beyond this, it is worth noting that “a product may also die out prematurely or be revitalized after its decline.”[iii]

🌱 What are the impacts of “overdesigning” a product?

“Engineers control the life cycles of the products or systems they design, to a certain degree. Producing a product or a system with a longer life span is usually more costly. In this regard, obsolescence occurs when avoiding the ‘overdesigning’ of a product and ‘over allocating’ economic resources into its design and production. By exceeding the intended functions and the life span for which a product will be used, resources would be unnecessarily wasted.”[iv]

🌱 Can limiting products’ lifespans have any desirable effects?

“The obsolescence of a product makes room for new products on the market, which may come with new desirable aspects. “Sustainability, environmental impact, serviceability, safety, cultural significance, aesthetics, risk, social impact, and ethics” are all so-called ‘design performance parameters’ that may be desirable for society and the environment.”[v]

🌱 What are some benefits of increasing electronics’ lifespans?

It is estimated that by increasing the lifespan of electronic devices by 50% to 100%, it is possible to mitigate up to half of the total greenhouse gas emissions created by the electronics industry. This increased lifespan can be achieved – for example – through eco-design, repair, refurbishment, and reuse.[vi] Amongst others, increasing the lifespan of electronics can also reduce waste, the need for mining, and the costs to consumers.

This post is based on Christine Nikander’s research on e-waste and planned obsolescence at Leiden University College The Hague in 2015-2016. It entails extracts from her thesis titled “E-Waste Trafficking as an Environmental Crime: Countering the Transboundary Movement of E-waste by Legally Limiting Planned Obsolescence”. This content is protected by Dutch copyright law (©2016 by Christine Nikander) and all rights are reserved.

[i] Rajeev Solomon, Peter Sandborn, and Michael Pecht, “Electronic Part Life Cycle Concepts and Obsolescence Forecasting”, http://enme.umd.edu/ESCML/Papers/ObsCPMT.pdf, 2-5, 13; Christine Nikander, “E-Waste Trafficking as an Environmental Crime: Countering the Transboundary Movement of E-waste by Legally Limiting Planned Obsolescence”, https://hdl.handle.net/1887/60627, 38.

[ii] Rajeev Solomon, Peter Sandborn, and Michael Pecht, “Electronic Part Life Cycle Concepts and Obsolescence Forecasting”, http://enme.umd.edu/ESCML/Papers/ObsCPMT.pdf, 2-5, 13; Christine Nikander, “E-Waste Trafficking as an Environmental Crime: Countering the Transboundary Movement of E-waste by Legally Limiting Planned Obsolescence”, https://hdl.handle.net/1887/60627, 38.

[iii] Rajeev Solomon, Peter Sandborn, and Michael Pecht, “Electronic Part Life Cycle Concepts and Obsolescence Forecasting”, http://enme.umd.edu/ESCML/Papers/ObsCPMT.pdf, 2-5; Christine Nikander, “E-Waste Trafficking as an Environmental Crime: Countering the Transboundary Movement of E-waste by Legally Limiting Planned Obsolescence”, https://hdl.handle.net/1887/60627, 38.

[iv] Rafael Gomes de Oliveira, “Planned Obsolescence”, https://ascelibrary.org/doi/epdf/10.1061/%28ASCE%29LM.1943-5630.0000244, 262; Christine Nikander, “E-Waste Trafficking as an Environmental Crime: Countering the Transboundary Movement of E-waste by Legally Limiting Planned Obsolescence”, https://hdl.handle.net/1887/60627, 42-43.

[v] Rafael Gomes de Oliveira, “Planned Obsolescence”, https://ascelibrary.org/doi/epdf/10.1061/%28ASCE%29LM.1943-5630.0000244, 262; Christine Nikander, “E-Waste Trafficking as an Environmental Crime: Countering the Transboundary Movement of E-waste by Legally Limiting Planned Obsolescence”, https://hdl.handle.net/1887/60627, 42-43.

[vi] Narendra Singh and Oladele A. Ogunseitan, “Disentangling the worldwide web of e-waste and climate change co-benefits”, https://circulairekennis.nl/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/O014-Disentangling-the-worldwide-web-of-e-waste-and-climate-change.pdf, 1.