How to use AI without hurting the environment

Hey techbros! With the rise of AI datacenters that pollute water and contribute to global warming, did you know that there is actually a way to use AI in an environmentally friendly way?

That's right! And in this article, I'm going to show you how!

It starts with solar panels, and it ends with running AI models locally on your computer, which doesn't use data centers or release carbon emissions! Here's a step-by-step tutorial on how to make the switch to go green!

1. Purchase a solar panel.

This solar panel will produce the electricity required to run your electronics, as well as the local AI that you will host locally on your computer. Since AI uses a lot of electricity, some things are vital to look out for when shopping for a solar panel:

• Wattage: Aim for at least 100W, if possible.
• Efficiency: Aim for at least 20% efficiency, if possible. China leads in efficiency when it comes to producing solar panels, but some European models also have high efficiency at a higher price, with better customer support. The U.S.A. has also begun to use innovative technologies regarding solar.
  

Some solar panels I would suggest include ones that look like these, found on Amazon, Walmart, and Temu, with prices for efficient 100W solar panels being as low as $60.

You can also wait and buy your solar panel and power bank together as a matching set to ensure compatibility, which leads us to our next step

2. Purchase a power bank.

This power bank will store the energy that your solar panel produces. This is important to make sure that none of that beautiful solar energy gets wasted. Some solar panels offer charging ports directly on them, but since AI draws so much power, it might be wise to invest in a power bank. Power banks are also great assets for power outages. Again, when shopping, there are always some things to consider.

• Wattage: Aim for at least 100W for your power bank, but the more the merrier. Your phone probably takes about 15W to charge, while your laptop might take 60W. If you're using AI, the power you consume will be greater than your computer's baseline, though. If you are planning to hook up your desktop computer, I'd aim for 300W on the power bank so there could be plenty of wiggle room for the AI model to shine.
• Compatibility: Make sure the power bank you purchase is COMPATIBLE with your solar panel and the computer or machine that you will be hosting your AI model on. Check the product pages to make sure that the included plugs match the power outlets. For example, you can check if the solar panel includes a USB cord, and if the power bank includes a USB outlet.

Here are some cool options for power bank & solar panel duos to ensure success, which can be purchased online here and here. If you look around, you can get a really powerful, 300W powerbank for like $60 on some websites, with sets ranging from $100-$200.

3. Install a local, offline AI model on your hardware.

For computers, start here (scroll down for a phone tutorial):

Installing an AI model locally on your computer will make the program run directly on your hardware (without using a third-party data center) as long as song settings are fine-tuned.

First, download Ollama. Ollama is the software that will host your AI models. It can be used offline, without the cloud, and without using any harmful, polluting datacenters. Here is the official website of Ollama.

Do you see that little line of code above the "Download" button that says "irm https://ollama.com/install.ps1 | iex"? This line of code is important.

After downloading Ollama, open up Windows PowerShell. Then, type in: 

irm https://ollama.com/install.ps1 | iex

This command can also be found on the official Ollama website, as pictured in the screenshot above. They might update this command regularly, so feel free to check their website to see if they changed the code line.

After this, Ollama should continue to download its other bits onto your computer. 

After that, Ollama should be installed successfully on your computer.

From the Ollama "Settings" screen, make sure that "Cloud" is unselected.  We don't want that. Cloud services mean that the AI model outsources its power from datacenters, connecting online through the cloud. Since we are trying to be environmentally friendly, we are avoiding data center usage

Next, we want to download the actual AI model. There are plenty to choose from on the official Ollama website. Avoid models that rely on cloud services so we can run the model only on your hardware and be environmentally friendly.

I chose Quen3.6 as my AI model for my PC with 32GB of RAM because there is an offline version that doesn't use the cloud, and it offers powerful capabilities.

Look at the little bit of code that shows on the AI model page. In this case, it's "ollama run qwen3.6". Enter this line of code into your PowerShell to download the model.

You can also scroll for more model variations and click on their names to find the associated command codes. This is the specific model I went with.

If you want the same model as me, then enter this line of code into your Windows PowerShell to download it:

ollama run qwen3.6:35b

For Phone Installation:

There are plenty of apps you can download on your iPhone or Android to host an AI model locally on your phone, without relying on data centers, powered by your solar panels. Some examples include:

• MLC Chat on iOS, found in the App Store! (easy)
• 
  TensorFlow Lite for Android - tutorial found here: https://github.com/tensorflow/examples/tree/master/lite/examples
• 
  

And that's it!

Hook up your computer to the solar panel-powered power bank, run Ollama, and you're done! You have successfully installed an eco-friendly AI model onto your computer and powered it with eco-friendly solar panels!

Happy tasking!