There are Many Products to Create the Perfect Green Office
Electronics & Home Office: Overview
Office equipment is one of the fastest-growing electricity uses in commercial buildings in the U.S. and directly consumes 7% of total commercial electric energy, which translates into $1.8 billion in electricity costs to businesses. Furthermore, energy consumption due to office equipment and related energy systems is expected to continue to grow. By choosing energy-efficient equipment, consumers can save a substantial amount on their office equipment electricity bill. When in doubt, you can also just look for the Energy Star label. In addition to purchasing efficiency products, using energy efficient “smart” power strips can help a great deal.*
If you chose energy efficient or Energy Star office products, they can provide you with as much as 90% savings compared to comparable non-efficient products. The environmental impact is also substantial. For example, if all computers sold in the United States meet the Energy Star requirements, the savings in energy costs will grow to more than $2 billion each year and greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by the equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions from nearly 3 million vehicles.*
Computers, Printers, Copiers & Scanners
Computers, printers and copiers have similar characteristics…they draw significant amounts of power, much of which is wasted when the device is not being used. Always look for devices that have power management capabilities that enable them to power down after a predetermined period of inactivity. For computers, try a laptop as a typical laptop computer draws only 15 to 25 watts during use compared to the 150 watts used by a conventional desktop computer and monitor and its sleep mode typically uses just a fraction of a watt.*
With printers and copiers, make sure they have power management features that enable them to power down after a predetermined period of inactivity but also choose those that do not use a heat fusing mechanism when applying ink to paper which use less energy than many current energy efficient laser printers.
Televisions
Just like computers and printers, when shopping for a television make sure it has power management capabilities that enable them to power down after a predetermined period of inactivity as televisions can still draw significant amounts of power when not in use. Also, consider purchasing a Liquid Crystal Display, or LCD model, which typically uses much less energy than comparable plasma sets. In fact, a 42-inch plasma television can draw more power than a large refrigerator even if the TV is only used a few hours a day.
If you want to go even greener with your new LCD, look for a television with 3M’s Vikuiti Dual Brightness Enhancement Films, which recycle light within the LCD to make it more energy efficient, while improving picture quality. And for those of you who want to make sure your LCD has the best picture, make sure you check out the contrast ratio. The contrast ratio is a measure of color representation (how the color information appears against a dark background), so the higher the number, the better the color representation and the better your picture quality.*
Power Adapters
Power adapters help power your electronic devices by converting high voltage AC electricity from the wall outlet to the low voltage DC power used to power your every day products like camcorders, digital cameras, laptops, and cell phones. You can save a substantial amount of energy by switching to an Energy Star power adapter which, on average, are 30% more efficient than conventional models. They are also often lighter and smaller in size, making it easier for consumers to travel with products such as their laptop.
Best Energy Practices For Your Home Office Electronics
Here are some more tips for maintaining an energy efficient home office:*
1. Many appliances, such as VCR’s, TV’s, computers and stereos, continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off, costing you energy and money. Avoid these phantom loads by unplugging the appliance or using a power strip and using the switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance.
2. Many people think that a computer screen saver will conserve energy when in fact it will not. To really save energy, switch your computer to sleep mode or your monitor actually off.
3. Remember to unplug battery chargers when the batteries are fully charged or the chargers are not in use as they will continue to draw power when they do not need to.
4. When working from home on a cold day, try letting sunlight in to natural heat your home rather than turning on a heater. Same thing with a hot day, try opening your windows or your door to let cooler air in rather than turning up the air conditioner.
*source: www.energystar.gov & www.energy.gov
