How toxic is Love Island for the environment? Research reveals that Brits watching the series have used the same energy as driving 50 MILLION miles
- The total energy used to watch each episode of Love Island 2021 is the equivalent of 50 million miles being driven.
- The show, won on Monday night by Millie Court and Liam Reardon, had at least two and a half million viewers per episode.
- One viewer watching every episode of the series would use 11.9 kWh, the equivalent of driving 21 miles.
Love Island has been heavily criticised for encouraging toxic behaviour, and now new research has revealed its toxic impact on the environment too.
A new study has revealed that the electrical energy used by the UK to watch every episode of the hit reality show this year has created the same level of emissions as driving 50 million miles.
The research by online casino hub CasinoGrounds.com found the electrical energy (kWh) used to watch each episode of this year’s Love Island and compared it to the viewing figures to establish the emissions produced as the British public watched the most popular dating show in the country.
The results showed that one person watching every episode of this year’s series – a total of just under 60 hours of viewing time – would be using 11.9kWh of electrical energy, which is the equivalent of driving twenty-one miles. This amount of electrical energy could fully charge more than one thousand smartphones.
The show had an average audience of at least 2.3 million viewers per night, meaning the number of kilowatt-hours of electricity (kWh) used to watch the series throughout the UK came to a massive 28,106,000, which produces 19,918kg of carbon dioxide. This energy output is the equivalent of driving 50 million miles in an average passenger vehicle – enough to drive the around the world more two thousand times.
Watching one average sixty-minute episode of the dating show uses 0.2kWh of electricity which could drive an average passenger car for 0.3 miles, or charge 17 smartphones to capacity.
The winning couple, Millie and Liam face the challenge of being a long-distance couple once they depart the villa. Millie lives in Essex, which is 232 miles away from Liam in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales, so the energy used watching the show would be enough to power 215,217 trips between the two locations.
In addition, the carbon emissions produced watching Love Island are equivalent to 103 round-trip flights between London and Mallorca, where the show is filmed.
A spokesperson for CasinoGrounds.com commented: “Whilst Love Island provides daily entertainment for the nation, it is alarming to see the environmental impact of these shows, especially when considering recent statements made by the UN that we are at a crucial point in the climate crisis.”
At least 2.3 million average viewers tuned in every evening to watch the hit ITV2 show presented by Laura Whitmore, which is a decline on previous years that saw six million average daily viewers.
Casinogrounds.com is the leading online gambling community, which promotes safe and responsible practise and discussions around gambling.
Individual Energy Consumption from watching Love Island 2021 |
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Electrical Energy Used | Equivalent Miles Driven | Number of Smartphones this could charge | Number of homes energy use per year | Pounds of coal burned |
11.9 kWh | 21.2 | 1,026 | 0.001 | 9.3 |
The UK’s Energy Consumption from watching Love Island 2021 |
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Electrical Energy Used | Equivalent Miles Driven | Number of Smartphones this could charge | Number of homes energy use per year | Pounds of coal burned |
28,106,000 kWh | 50,058,452 | 2,422,906,173 | 2,399 | 22,015,290 |
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