From a PC industry point of view, "green" can translate to a "complex maze" of different standards and definitions, Bryan Ma, IDC's director of personal systems research in the Asia-Pacific region, pointed out in a phone interview.
"The thing that really resonates among buyers--particularly in Asia--is really, energy savings", he told ZDNet Asia. "Appealing to the selfish nature of an organization, in terms of [lower] electricity costs, probably has a more direct bang for the buck."
An IDC survey conducted in the first quarter of 2009 revealed that one in five Asia-Pacific respondents were willing to pay a premium on energy-efficient PCs despite the downturn. Another 33 percent said they were prepared to do so during better economic conditions. Some 2,100 executives participated in the poll.
In June, Symantec reported that 96 percent of companies surveyed in the region indicated they would replace older equipment with energy-efficient products.
The power to save
Chong Tze Sing, Lenovo's product manager for Asean, noted that energy consumption differences between an Energy Star-rated machine and one that is not, can be "significant". For instance, a Lenovo M58/M58p ThinkCentre desktop with a power supply of 80 percent efficiency can achieve roughly 25 percent savings on energy costs compared to a similar configuration with a standard power supply, he said in an e-mail.
Philip Devlin, product marketing manager of mobile business at Hewlett-Packard Asia-Pacific and Japan's personal systems group, noted in an e-mail that the company's Energy Star-compliant business notebook line-up translates into savings of between US$6 and US$58 annually per computer.
"Multiply that by the number of HP business notebooks worldwide and that's a significant energy and monetary savings," he noted.
Tips to get the right shade of 'green' PC
- 1. Insist on computers with the Energy Star sticker for an energy-efficient power supply, or EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) certification, which evaluates electronic products in relation to 51 total environmental criteria. An EPEAT bronze status indicates that the product meets all 23 compulsory criteria; a silver rating indicates the product meets an additional 50 percent of remaining optional criteria; the gold is awarded to products that meet an additional 75 percent of optional criteria. Other common green standards used by the PC industry are RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances), 80 Plus (80 percent efficient power supply rating) and Green Guard.
- 2. Consider energy efficiencies of components, such as monitors and processors. Ultra-low voltage processors are now available in the market, while current multicore processors can consume up to 50 percent less power than single core processors sold several years earlier, due to newer technologies such as parallel processing. DDR3 memory consumes 25 percent less energy than DDR2. Variable speed fans minimize fan activity, and hence keep power consumption down.
- 3. Understand the level of control and options available with power management software that comes with the computer. The software typically allows individual machines to adopt a suitable energy profile or be used in conjunction with other tools to implement an enterprise-wide energy profile. It may also provide real-time feedback of how various settings impact the energy consumed.
- 4. Consider product disposal at the end of its shelf life. This requires taking into consideration the materials used as well as the manufacturer's disposal or recycling programs.
(Tips courtesy of Lenovo)This article was originally posted on ZDNet Asia.
