EPEAT Assessment Tool

Are you buying a desktop PC, notebook or monitor in the near future?  You can compare the  environmental attributes of certain computer components by using Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) at http://www.epeat.net/. 

EPEAT not only requires that the equipment be Energy Star certified but also has 23 required performance criteria that equipment must satisfy and 28 optional criteria that manufacturers may meet to achieve a higher-ranking level.

EPEAT has three tiers of environmental performance:

Bronze:  Product satisfies all required criteria
Silver:  Product satisfies at least 50% of optional criteria
Gold:    Product satisfies at least 75% of optional criteria

EPEAT provides an opportunity for manufacturers to be recognized for their efforts to reduce product environmental  impact.

External AC/DC Power Adapters

If you are like most people, you probably have many electronic devices in your home using AC/DC power adapters.  Older power adapters are not very efficient, anywhere between 20% - 60%.  Newer power adapters that meet the voluntary Energy Star standards have power efficiency as high as 85% minimum. Energy Star [1] mandates the International Efficiency Marking Protocol [2].  If a power adapter meets the protocol then it will have a Roman numeral with a circle around as per the figure in the international protocol [2]. If the Roman numeral is III or higher the power supply will have at least 84% efficiency (>50W load) and consume less than 0.5W - 0.75W (no load). Consult the International Efficiency Marking Protocol documentation for an exact summary for each Roman numeral. [1] Energy Star - External Power Supplies [2] International Efficiency Marking Protocol

Home PC

Your Home PC

by Steve Auger

Did you know that the top three energy consuming gadgets in a typical home are  (in order):  Playstation 3, plasma TV and PC?  This post focuses on the number three offender:  your home PC.

The first energy-saving idea is to switch from using a desk-top PC to a portable.  Portable PCs typically use 1/4 the power.  Note that when using a portable PC you should switch off the monitor and Wi-Fi when not in use.  (Portable PCs that meet Energy Star 4 spec's require this action to meet the quoted power efficiency.)

If you do not have a portable PC at home then, depending on your occupation, you may be able to bring one home from work.  If you don't have access to a portable don't sweat it - here are some desk-top PC energy-saving ideas:

• Optimize window's (or BIOS) sleep and power down settings.  Don't optimize to the point that the settings are an annoyance.
• Disable programs not being used from system startup;
• Power the PC, monitor and peripherals from one power bar.  Turn off the power bar when the PC is not in use;
• Switch from an old CRT monitor to an LCD monitor
• Throw out the high end video graphics card (save 200W typical).   When your kids complain tell them to get a life.
• Optimize the amount of system RAM.  Too much requires more power.  Too little results in the hard drive being over-utilized.
• Defragment the hard drive regularly.