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What’s the environmental impact of personal
computers — and are “greener” PCs available?
Online gamers and other heavy computer users are
definitely leaving an environmental mark. Depending on when it was made and
how it was designed, a standard desktop PC can use anywhere from 60 to 300
watts when in use, and an inefficient gaming PC with powerful graphics
card, multiple hard drives and optical drives, flash memory reader, and a
30-inch LCD monitor might consume as much as 750 watts, or about as much as
a typical refrigerator. Until July 2007, government Energy Star
requirements only measured a computer’s energy use while it was in
standby mode, allowing most brands to carry the label. New, stricter efficiency requirements have brought greener models. You’ll find the largest
selection from companies such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard. Many businesses
use the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool to assist in the
purchase of greener computing systems, and the evaluations can be useful to
consumers, too. EPEAT evaluates and rates computing equipment on 28
efficiency and sustainability criteria, awarding bronze, silver, or gold
for overall performance. Technology company VIA is well regarded as an
industry leader in low-wattage processors (central processing units, or
CPUs), with some barely sipping a dozen-or-so watts from the power supply.
Some typical VIA designs can outperform competitors using only 23 watts, or
less than half the power called for by Energy Star specifications. Of
course, graphics cards used by PC gamers are serious energy hogs. Your
top-end ATI or Nvidia card will render great graphics but use 300 watts or
more. Newer cards are better, but much depends on their use. The best
advice is to buy only the graphics power you need. One of the easiest ways to save on computer power is
to use technology that automatically rests when you do and to shut your
computer down when you’re not using it. Windows XP allows users to
configure power-management settings, and Vista Ultimate lets you configure
power-saving options in even more ways. Vista can actually throttle its
power consumption for some tasks and power down at other times. If
you’re just typing a Microsoft Word document, performance will back
down, whereas if you are editing video in a powerful program such as Adobe
Premier Pro, Vista will use all processing power available. Bear in mind that screen savers are not energy
savers. In fact, power-down features may not work if you have a screen
saver activated. Happily, LCD color monitors do not need screen savers. In
terms of shutting down, although PCs use a small amount of energy when they
start up it’s considerably less than the energy used when they are on
for long periods. Consider turning off the monitor if you aren’t
going to use your PC for more than 20 minutes and both the CPU and monitor
if you’re not going to use your PC for more than two hours. If you’re concerned about the wear and tear of
turning PCs on and off, don’t be. Most PCs reach the end of their
“useful” life as a result of advances in technology long before
the effects of being switched on and off multiple times can have a negative
impact on their service life.
For more information:
Energy Star, www.energystar.gov; EPEAT, epeat.net; for recycling of an old
monitor, www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/recycle/ecycling/donate.htm.
Send questions to Earth Talk at P.O. Box 5098,
Westport, CT 06881 or e-mail earthtalk@emagazine.com.
This article appears in Feb 28 – Mar 5, 2008.
