70-75%
desktop computer power supplies (PSUs) are generally 70–75% efficient,
dissipating the remaining 30-25% of energy used as heat.
80%
as of July 2007 all new Energy Star 4.0-certified desktop PSUs must be at
least 80% efficient
£123m
research from 2005 showed that failing to switch off PCs costs British
industry £123.2 million each year.
12.5m
12.5 million unwanted PCs or laptops have not been re-used or recycled
by their owners.
of inactivity. In addition, a system may hibernate, in which it turns off but companies must often spend significant time and money in
nearly all components, greatly reducing the system’s electricity use. ensuring here is no data left on these donated units. There is a
Some manufacturers have gone beyond this with features than enable booming market in the secure but environmentally aware disposal
users to shut down more features and increase power saving. of IT hardware, though there is often a hard argument to be fought
in the boardroom to justify spending money to pass an asset on to
LCD monitors typically use a cold-cathode fluorescent bulb to provide another party.
light for the display. Newer displays use an array of light-emitting
diodes (LEDs) in place of the fluorescent bulb, which reduces the Perception of the security threat that this hardware may pose explains
amount of electricity used by the display. As a natural evolution of this why many companies still prefer to either destroy older computers or
process, in 2007 Fujitsu Siemens Computers unveiled the world’s keep re-use within the company. As an indication, recent consumer
first monitor that consumes zero watts in standby. research has shown that 12.5 million unwanted PCs or laptops have
not been re-used or recycled by their owners. Within UK businesses
Computer virtualisation is the process of running two or more logical this figure of waste could be as much as double.
computer systems on one set of physical hardware. With virtualisation,
a system administrator could combine several physical systems into Some savvy service providers and hardware resellers are
virtual machines on one single, powerful system, thereby unplugging now integrating these elements of disposal into a complete
the original hardware. In a data centre this reduces not only the need environmental package. This begins with the sale of green IT
for power for the hardware but also the energy used for cooling including services such as the disposal of packaging. Ongoing
consumption which often doubles the power consumption required. service elements include power consumption monitoring at the
desktop or evaluating data centre design to improve efficiency.
These deployments of more energy efficient technology need to be At the end of the product’s life, these resellers oversee its secure
accompanied by a critical procedural change within the business and safe disposal.
– ensuring visibility of energy costs. All too often the IT department
bosses do not see the electricity bill, which is usually a facilities This is why early design considerations of recycling are so critical.
management issue. By making the IT department responsible for its The remarketing, reuse and recycling of Fujitsu Siemens Computers
energy consumption, a move to more energy efficient technology can products have taken place at the company’s Paderborn, Germany
be made more quickly and more smoothly. facility since 1988. At Paderborn, approximately 20 percent of Fujitsu
Siemens Computers-branded equipment is reused and, currently,
There is of course a very simple and effective method to reduce only two percent is disposed.
power consumption without extensive investment in new equipment
– ensuring all unused equipment is totally turned off. Research from By having such a high percentage of reusable components, these
2005 showed that failing to switch off PCs costs British industry end-of-life processes are much easier and safer, resulting in lower
£123.2 million each year. Allowing for increased energy use and the costs for greener disposal.
cost of power, that figure has probably grown closer to £150 million
by now. Green technology is currently a burgeoning area, but it risks an
early development of a silo approach – power consumption, energy
Re-use, decommissioning and disposal efficiency, hazardous materials, regulation and cost issues must all
be integrated and logically progressed throughout a company. This
When technology has reached the end of its useful life, there are requires senior management level buy-in and an awareness of the full
many issues to consider. Re-use via donation is increasingly popular, product lifecycle. n
ecoexecutive | 52
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