Computers have become a familiar part of our daily lives but as we develop our technology is it blighting our future or can we make it sustainable?
In the same way as we are now aware of the energy-saving potential of light bulbs and the CFCs in old fridges we need to be aware of the impacts on our world that buying electronic equipment has and find ways of minimising them. Also the careless way we use them – leaving computers and monitors on and chargers plugged in – drains power unnecessarily.
We are using our computers more and more these days as technology brings us a wider world of functional and fun options. Whether it’s to download music, watch TV, surf the net or just write a letter it all means our computers are spending a lot more time in use than they used to. But about 50% of the power that they use is wasted in heat and noise – and then, even when we are not using them, we often leave them on and they continue to drain power. All that power is costing us the earth – both in cash and environmental damage.
sust-it.net provides consumer information on the most energy efficient products on the market, including computers and printers – ranking them by power consumption.
There are simple things that we can all do to make how we use our computers more eco-friendly. Here are 5 easy ideas.
1: Turn I.T. Off
If you’re not using your equipment, switch it off! This doesn’t just refer to your PC. Printers, scanners, external hard drives when left connected to your computer and switched on still use up the watts. Wireless networks are tiny radio stations so if you’re not routinely using yours turn it off – your system will be more secure, too.
2: Meet your Power Manager
Your computer’s operating system, such as Windows, is able to manage the power settings for your computer. The most energy efficient option is to set your screen to go to standby or ‘sleep’ rather than to screen saver. Many screen savers can use more processing power and more energy providing complex patterns and 3D pictures than when the screen is in normal use!
Your Power Manager can also power down hard drives when they are idle and set your computer to ‘sleep’ after a period of no use.
3: Upgrade to LCD
Many computer upgrades use more processing power but changing your old bulky monitor for a modern LCD flat screen can really save energy. LCD screens can use just a third of the energy of older monitors when on and a tenth when comparing ‘sleep’ modes. When you are upgrading look out for the power consumption figures to get the most efficient.
4: Think Then Print
Only printing when you really need to saves energy, paper and ink. You can also print in ‘draft’ or ‘economy’ setting for most things.
5: Star Rated
When buying new equipment look out for the Energy Star logo. This means that the energy consumption is below an agreed level in ‘stand-by’ mode.
See How Much Energy You Save
If you want to see just how much power you are saving by getting your computer to power down when it’s not in use then you can download a simple programme from https://www.localcooling.com It’s free and makes setting your computer’s power saving options easy. Once installed it tells you how much energy you’ve saved and even how many gallons of oil it’s equivalent to. It can be installed across companies system to cut carbon as well and you can join the Local Cooling Community and compete to save the most!
Embodied Energy
Computers and other electronic equipment contain a host of harmful chemicals and their manufacture uses vast amounts of energy and resources. We throw them away, on an all too regular basis, without a second thought. The electronics industry is the world’s largest and fastest growing manufacturing industry yet its green performance is only now starting to be taken seriously.
A report from the UN University in 2004 estimated that ten times its own weight of resources including fossil fuels and chemicals is used in the manufacture of an average PC. These complicated wonders of the modern age contain over 1000 different materials many of which are highly toxic or carcinogenic, such as chlorinated and brominated substances, toxic gases, heavy metals, acids, plastics and plastic additives.
Spurred on by increasing customer concern and new legislation electronics manufacturers have started to address the problems of manufacture and disposal of their products as well as their energy efficiency. Companies like Nokia, Dell and Apple have pledged to completely remove certain hazardous materials from their products from 2008/9.
But the resources are still being used up; the ‘e-waste’ is still piling higher and higher. In 1999 the average lifespan of a computer in the USA was 4 to 6 years. By 2004 this had dropped to less than 2 years.
The Ethical Computer Company, based in Burslem, Stoke on Trent, addresses some of these issues by refurbishing second hand computers for resale or supply to developing countries. Components that can’t be re-used are recycled.
