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Fact Sheet: Printers and Imaging EquipmentSwitch IT Over Home Taking Action Resources Introduction
Printers, copiers, multi-function devices (MFD’s) and faxes can waste a lot of energy because they are left on for long periods of time sitting idle. In fact printers, copiers and other imaging equipment typically perform their primary function only 10% of the time (AGO, 2005). Buying equipment that has low idle power consumption, consolidating your fleet and ensuring users switch off can assist council to improve productivity and minimise costs and environmental impacts. Table of contentsBuy for Energy EfficiencyCouncils typically replace their imaging equipment every five years, primarily because this is the normal contract period for lease agreements (ICLEI Oceania, 2008). Each replacement cycle presents the opportunity for council to take advantage of technological advancements and choose equipment that is more energy efficient and has better power saving features. Energy consumption can vary widely between different brands and models, so it is important to compare products and consider the total cost of ownership in addition to the upfront price. ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR is a product energy efficiency program that requires manufacturers of equipment to comply with minimum energy performance standards in exchange for the right to display the blue ENERGY STAR logo.
Note that many products are capable of exceeding ENERGY STAR standards, therefore council should check the power consumption of all new products in operating, low power, sleep and off modes so you can select the most energy efficient, value for money model. Enable power mangementProducts that feature the ENERGY STAR logo must have their energy-saving features enabled when they are shipped. Unfortunately many suppliers and in-house IT staff disable ENERGY STAR features because of concerns that they will disrupt network settings. To avoid this, make sure you ask the equipment installer to show you that the ENERGY STAR features are working. Good Environmental Choice Australia
The Good Environmental Choice Australia Label is the only environmental labelling program in Australia that indicates the environmental performance of a product from a whole of product life perspective. The label is awarded to products that meet voluntary environmental performance standards which have been created and assessed in conformance to international environmental labelling standards (ISO14024). Products that meet this standard can display the GECA label. Note that the GECA standard for printers and imaging equipment requires compliance with the latest ENERGY STAR performance criteria. Copy-and-paste product specificationsIncluding clear energy performance criteria in product specifications for imaging equipment is one of the best ways to ensure new equipment satisfies council’s preference for high efficiency equipment. The following table provides an example set of criteria that can be included. Click table to enlarge. Consolidate Your FleetICLEI Oceania research (2008) has found that local governments typically allocate one printer to 11-20 users. New advancements in equipment infrastructure can allow fewer printing units to service a greater number of users. The same applies to multifunction devices that can replace individual faxes, copiers and printers, thus achieving significant reductions in energy consumption from running multiple machines.
Some of these concerns can be addressed. For example:
Switch Off
Switching off office equipment when it is not being used reduces energy consumption and heat produced by equipment, which in turn lowers cooling cost. But sometime getting staff on-board can be difficult. Conducting an awareness raising campaign can help get your message across. Install TimersA simple way to bypass staff and ensure equipment is switched off is to install timers. Timers allow you to specify set periods of time for equipment to be switched off, such as overnight and weekends. These do not generally affect your preferred settings, but check with the manufacturer if you are not sure. If you do install timers, it is important that you let staff know how to override them if they work outside of business hours. Print DuplexStudies have shown that the life-cycle emissions of consumables such as paper and toner, can use up to 6 times more energy than the operation of the imaging machine (EcoDesign for EUP Products, 2007). Therefore the most energy efficient option is to procure equipment capable of automatic duplexing and enabling this as a default setting. Better still, change council policy to require all internal documents to be printed double-sided and encourage staff to use electronic documents where possible. Divert FaxesIf council has multiple fax machines, consider diverting them to one or two machines and switch off the rest outside of business hours. Sustainable End-of-Life Disposal
Local government agencies utilise a range of channels to dispose of their old office and IT equipment. There is no clear method that stands out as the most sustainable option as the sustainability of each method is influenced by a multitude of factors. Click table to enlarge: Manufacturers Sustainability CommitmentsInformation about the environmental credentials of each manufacturer can be found on their websites. References
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