Saving Energy - computers and i.t.

Increasingly, energy consumption has become a board-level issue.

Studies in Canada revealed that computers are only used for about 12 percent of the time they are running. And they often remain switched on overnight or during the weekend when not in use.

According to government estimates, turning computers off overnight and at weekends will save £63 per computer each year.

Make a list: List the all of office equpment and appliances that you have in your premises. Then make sure everything isturned off at night, and especially weekends. You might be surprised how much there is: your list could include computers, laptops, printers, faxes, scanners, photocopiers, t.v.'s, videos, microwaves, desk fans, phone chargers, etc.

Walkabout inspections: do checks to see whether staff are truly turning off equpment.

Educate all users, staff and volunteers: Make sure occasional users of equipment are aware of need to shut down when they are finished. Educate not just staff but also volunteers.

Screen savers aren’t energy savers! Many people think screen savers save energy, and that having a screen saver on takes care of reducing energy wastage.

Use stand by: Set PCs to go on stand by if they haven’t been in use for five minutes

Turn off computer monitors when away from the desk: People people tend to switch off their computer in the evening, but not their monitor. It saves energy to save them off at lunch time and when people are away at meetings.

Don’t switch on computers and printers until you need them. Many people come into the office and automatically turn on everything immediately.

Share printers: Think about buying fewer more efficient printers and networking them, rather than giving everyone a small desktop printer that may encourage them to print out uneccessary documents, and which only prints single sided.

Photocopiers: Leaving a photocopier on standby overnight and at weekends can cost your charity £42 a year - and emits around 183kg of CO2.  Switch the copier off at night and at weekends. Allocate responsibility to one person or install a timer. Ensure the copier's standby features are enabled for office hours.

Vending machines: Vending machines cost roughly £268 per year to run.

Microwave ovens: Switching off or unplugging a microwave has no costs and will save 80kg of CO2 per year.

If you are buying a new PC - check the energy information.
The European Commission offers detailed information about the power consumption of modern office computers at www.eu-energystar.org.

The website features an energy calculator for PCs, monitors and imaging equipment. It enables a detailed comparative calculation to be made of power consumption and overall costs by allowing for numerous factors.

Always check energy labels when buying appliances and equpment for the office.

Education, education, education!

Educate everyone who uses equipment about the importance of shutting off such equipment and encourage them to take individual responsibility