Green IT
The purpose of the Green IT project is to improve the sustainability of the technology used in the department by designing solutions that minimize materials used, reduce waste, and improve energy efficiency while reducing Totally Cost of Ownership.
Resources used in this project include the Energy Star program, an international standard for energy efficient consumer products, which is designed to promote and recognize energy-efficiency in monitors, climate control equipment, and other technologies. Another resource is EPEAT, the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool. EPEAT is a system to help purchasers in the public and private sectors evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on their environmental attributes.
Monitors
LCD monitors typically use a cold-cathode fluorescent bulb to provide light for the display. Some newer displays use an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in place of the fluorescent bulb, which reduces the amount of electricity used by the display.
Energy usage provided by Energy Star and manufacturer's specifications were used to see how much energy we could save by upgrading from CRT monitors to LCD monitors. We also used the EIA's official energy statistics for the cost of power in our state.
Energy Savings Cost Breakdown
CRT Monitors
Time Use – hours/day: 6.5 (to account for sleep time)
Time Use – days/year: (52weeks/yr – 2weeks vacation/yr) x (5days/wk) = 250 days/year
Monitor Watts: 150
Cost per kWh: $0.12
[(hours/day) x (days/year) x (watts)] / 1000 watts/kW = annual kWh consumption
(kW) x ($/kWh) = annual energy cost
[(6.5hr/day) x (250days/yr) x (150watts)]/1000 = 243.75 kWh annual energy consumption
(243.75 kWh) x ($0.12/kWh) = $29.25 per year
A CRT monitor costs us $29.25 per year in electricity.
LCD Monitors
Time Use – hours/day: 6.5 (to account for sleep time)
Time Use – days/year: (52weeks/yr – 2weeks vacation/yr) x (5days/wk) = 250 days/year
Monitor Watts: 25
Cost per kWh: $0.12
[(6.5hr/day) x (250days/yr) x (25watts)]/1000 = 40.62 kWh annual energy
(40.62 kWh) x ($0.12/kWh) = $4.87
A flat panel monitor costs us $4.87 per year in electricity.
EPEAT Rating
The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool judges products based on criteria such as reduction/elimination of environmentally sensitive materials, energy conservation, packaging, and many others. A full listing of criteria can be viewed here.
The two monitors we chose met either the Gold or Silver EPEAT Ratings.
- Dell E2209W Flap Panel Monitor EPEAT rating details
- Dell 1908FP Flat Panel Monitor EPEAT rating details
Desktops
Dell's Energy Smart desktops helps to reduce power consumption and energy cost by combining energy efficient hardware (including an 80-PLUS certified power supply) with OS and CPU power management technology. Dell Energy Smart settings optimize energy savings by enabling Low Power Mode, as well as setting OS power management capabilities to send the system into a low-power state after 15 minutes of inactivity.
Energy Savings Cost Breakdown
Again the energy usage provided by Energy Star and manufacturer's specifications were used to see how much energy we could save with desktops. The same calculations that we used for the monitors were used for the desktops.
Our old desktops cost $27.69 per year in electricity, while the newer energy smart desktops cost $12.67 per year in electricity.
EPEAT Rating
The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool judges products based on criteria such as reduction/elimination of environmentally sensitive materials, energy conservation, packaging, and many others. A full listing of criteria can be viewed here.
The standard desktop for the department earned an EPEAT Gold Rating.
Printers
Energy usage information was not available for our older network printer, but an Energy Star model was chosen when we upgraded. Energy efficiency and duplex options were used as a guide.
The main focus during our printer upgrade was Cost of Ink Per Page. By lowering the ink used per page, we will be lowering the cost of ownership of the printer, while reducing the amount of ink cartridges needing to be discarded. We also chose a brand that participated in an ink cartridge recycling program.
A simple calculation of the cost of an ink cartridge divided by its yield will give you the cost per page of a printer.
Our old network printer had a Cost Per Page of 2.1 cents, while our new network printer costs 0.9 cents per page.
Our old desktop printers had a Cost Per Page of 2.8 cents, while our new desktop printers cost 2.0 per page.
