Computers can consume a lot more energy than you think. Here are some ideas for how you can save energy, money, and do something good for the planet when you’re updating your equipment.
ENERGY STAR qualified computers – including desktops and notebooks – are now more efficient than ever due to the release this month of U.S Environmental Protection Agency’s Version 5.0 of the ENERGY STAR computer specification. If all computers in the U.S. were ENERGY STAR Version 5.0 qualified, the impact would be huge: the savings in energy costs would grow to more than $2 billion each year and greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by the equivalent of the emissions of 3 million cars. It all starts with your own personal computer.
All ENERGY STAR products meet strict efficiency guidelines set by the US EPA and US DOE and help people save energy and money and help fight global warming. Computers have been a program component since 1992 and feature improved operational efficiency and power management. As of July 1st, the specifications for qualified computer products are even more stringent, ensuring that you are getting a computer with the best energy performance on the market.
The new specification covers a wide range of popular notebooks, desktops, and integrated desktops from a variety of manufacturers (over 15 brands and counting). Version 5.0 of the program enhances operational efficiency by introducing a calculated Total Energy Consumption (TEC) value that evaluates power consumption in off, sleep, and idle modes, providing insight into how much energy a computer might be expected to consume on a yearly basis. While each person uses a computer differently, this TEC value provides a good point of comparison between similar systems and is based on industry research into common personal computer usage patterns. The Version 5.0 requirements also improve energy efficiency even more than in years past by ratcheting up power supply efficiency requirements to ensure that ENERGY STAR computers continue to use among the most efficient power supplies on the market. Lastly, power management requirements remain in place in the program, ensuring that a qualified computer will minimize its energy use when it is not being used – automatically. All in all, Version 5.0 qualified ENERGY STAR computers use between 30% to 60% less energy than non-ENERGY STAR computers.
Here are some quick tips for how to get the most out of your new Version 5.0 or any computer:
• First, look for ENERGY STAR. There are plenty of ENERGY STAR options to choose from. Find qualified products on energystar.gov, and head to Amazon.com/Green to take your pick.
• On the computer you may already own, make sure you enable power management. ENERGY STAR power management features are available on nearly all recent computers and automatically place computers into a lower power “sleep mode” after a designated period of inactivity. The computer wakes up once you move the mouse or hit a key on the keyboard. Enabling your desktop computer and monitor’s power management features can save your business or home office as much as $85 per year.
• For even more energy savings, consider reducing the brightness on your screen’s monitor (this is also a great idea when using a notebook unplugged from the wall to maximize battery life).
• Some users think that turning your computer off every night adds to the wear and tear of the operating system over time. This is a myth. While it’s true that if you use your computer throughout the day, you should not turn it off and on every time (that’s what power management is for), keeping it on all night only wastes energy. You can save even more energy by plugging all your office equipment into one single power strip that you can easily turn on and off when you are done.
• Be careful with screen savers. Not only do they not save energy, more often than not, a screen saver will draw power for the monitor and will also keep the CPU from shutting down. Putting the display into a sleep mode when you are not using it is a much better option that saves energy and responds quickly when you need the computer again.
• Don’t forget ENERGY STAR for your whole office beyond just your computer. An ENERGY STAR office equipped with a desktop computer, LCD monitor, and multifunction device (MFD) with power management can save you up to $75 over the life of the products. And, if you run a business or have numerous computers running at once, for every 100 computers you replace with the new ENERGY STAR specification, you can save $6,500 annually if they are power managed and turned off at night. For more information about making your home or work office green, check out this podcast.
And, if you do decide to purchase an ENERGY STAR computer, go ahead and take the ENERGY STAR Pledge so you can see the difference you can make in joining with millions of others in saving energy and fighting global warming.
Thanks to our partners at ENERGY STAR for this post.
~Amazon Green Scene
