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OFFICE GUIDE
GREEN OFFICE GUIDE
A guide to help you buy
and use environmentally
friendly office equipment
While every care has been taken in the compilation of this guide to the selection of office
equipment, NAEEEC takes no responsibility in respect to any information or advice contained
in the guide. Information that will enable the publishers to correct or update subsequent
editions will be welcomed.
Note: A greenhouse coefficient 1 kg CO2 per kWh and an energy tariff of 15 cents per kWh
have generally been used throughout this guide. Different coefficients and tariffs may apply to
your circumstances. However, the methods shown can be used with applicable greenhouse
factors and tariffs throughout Australia.
ISBN 0-7311-5281-6
Myth When equipment is turned on, Myth Turning off or power Myth Printing double-sided
or powers up from sleep or suspend managing computers and printers and/or using recycled paper causes
modes, there is often a current surge. causes network problems. photocopiers to jam and makes you
The energy consumed during this current Reality Major network software use more paper.
surge is so large that leaving your suppliers say that if networks have Reality Many of us have had these
equipment in normal operating mode been properly set up there should be experiences certainly, but they are
wastes less energy than turning it off no problem with turning off or power quite avoidable in modern equipment.
or using power management features. managing computers and printers in When buying new photocopiers and
Reality Start-up current surges are the network. If you are installing or printers, ensure that manufacturers
of very short duration and at most upgrading a network, you can save and suppliers are prepared to guarantee
they consume a few seconds of average energy by making effective power effective performance in these areas.
running time energy.Whenever your management capacity a mandatory Some copier manufacturers
equipment is not being used for more condition of the contract.While (e.g. Canon and Fuji Xerox) will
than a few minutes it makes sense servers need to be left on, they don’t specify the brands of recycled paper
to turn it off or switch to a lower need their screens on after hours they approve.
power setting. to assist processing.
Myth Refilled toner or ink
Myth Screen savers save energy. Myth The Windows NT operating cartridges leak everywhere and make
Reality Screen savers are energy system prevents you from using power an incredible mess.
wasters. Most computers use about management features. Reality As with recycled paper, this
twice as much energy lighting up the Reality Windows 95 was the first problem is avoidable and manufacturers
screen as they use for processing. Microsoft operating system to fully and suppliers should be prepared to
Originally, screen savers were designed support power management. For guarantee effective performance.
to stop screens being burnt by a machines running on many versions of
constant image, but they aren’t needed Windows NT, power management can
for modern screens. Not only can only be achieved by changing the settings
screen savers use as much energy as in the BIOS (basic input/output system). Screen savers save
a full screen of work, but many require However,Version 5 of Windows NT
considerable processing energy as well. has extensive and more easily enabled energy—right? Wrong!
If you want to save energy you can power management features. Don’t be fooled by
set your screen saver to ‘none’ or
‘blank screen.’ some of the more
Myth Power managing equipment
in winter means it will generate less common myths
Myth Turning off computers heat in the office and the heating surrounding energy
crashes the hard drive. system will need to run longer. efficiency.
Reality Switching off computers Reality True, but it is far
will have no significant effect on the more efficient, cheaper and more
useful lifetime of the hard disk. In the environmentally sound to heat your
past larger hard drives were degraded building with a purpose-built heating
by mechanical stress.Today some system than have inefficiently operating
manufacturers specify a life of 40,000 office equipment leak heat into the
power cycles for their hard drives. workplace. In fact, most commercial
That is equivalent to 30 stop/start cycles office buildings use much more energy
for each working day over five years. for cooling than for heating and power
management of equipment can reduce
the need for cooling considerably.
PC
for the approximately one-third
200 Laptop
30.0 of all computers which are left on
unnecessarily when not in use.
150 22.5
If EMO finds that a computer has
100 15.0 been inactive for a certain time,
it saves all open data files, closes all
50 7.5 applications and the operating system,
then switches the computer off. It
0 0 provides users with positive feedback
On continuously Switch off + Power manage + Power manage
after hours monitor computer via an on-screen log-on of the amount
of energy, dollars and greenhouse
emissions that have been saved during
Figure 4 Sleep mode ratings for monitors on the ENERGY STAR database, the previous day and since the
1 July 2000 installation of the software.
50 EMO was trialled in the Australian
Greenhouse Office and has been
45
implemented throughout Environment
Percentage of monitors
* http://www.epa.gov/appdstar/estar/products.html
GREEN OFFICE GUIDE 11
Photocopiers
Smart photocopiers
don’t waste energy.
Smart people use When selecting a photocopier, When using photocopiers:
smart photocopiers follow the general principles • make sure you need a printed copy
for buying green office before you photocopy the document
to save energy, equipment set out in the • turn the photocopier off at the
paper and toner. general principles for buying power point at the end of the
green office equipment section. working day and during periods
• If you are looking for a copier of inactivity. If the machine is in a
with accessories, make sure that very humid environment, this may
the quoted power rating in lower not work well. In that case, the
power mode includes the power options are to turn the photocopier
consumed by accessories. off at the machine and not the
• Look for a copier with an power point, or turn the heating
“energy save” button in addition to elements back on for some time
programmable power management before copying at the start of
features so that users can put the the working day
machine into low power mode as • set low power and off mode default
soon as they finish copying. times to the lowest available settings
• Choose a copier with a seven-day that suit your purposes
clock that allows you to program • copy double-sided whenever you can
it to turn off when it isn’t needed • use paper with the highest recycled
at the end of each work day and content the manufacturer or supplier
on weekends. will recommend for your printer
• Unless you are buying a small • use recycled or refilled toner
format photocopier, choose one and ink cartridges
with the capacity to reduce • where possible communicate
from A3 to A4. by email instead of paper.
• For multi-user copiers, consider a
second paper bin to feed paper that The ENERGY STAR guidelines
is already printed on one side. for standard-sized photocopiers
(those handling A4 and A3 paper)
• Select a photocopier with a high are summarised in Table 1.There are
recycled material content and that separate criteria for large format
makes use of recycled components. photocopiers (A2 or larger).
Copier speed Low-power Low-power Maximum recovery Off mode* Off mode
(copies per minute mode default time time of 30 seconds (watts) default time
= cpm) (watts) (minutes) (minutes)
0 < cpm ≤ 20 None Not applicable Not applicable ≤5 ≤ 30
20 < cpm ≤ 44 3.85 x cpm + 5 15 Yes ≤ 15 ≤ 60
44 ≤ cpm 3.85 x cpm + 5 15 Recommended ≤ 20 ≤ 90
* This is when the copier has been turned off via the auto-off feature or physically switched off at the machine but not at the power point.
When selecting a printer, follow the Before you print, think about
general principles for buying green whether you really need a printed
office equipment set out in the copy.Whenever possible, communicate
general principles for buying green by email instead. For those documents
office equipment section. you do need to print, here are some
Ensure the printer has toner- or energy and paper saving tips:
ink-saving modes such as draft • turn off the printer when you’re
or “econosave” and ask to see not using it and at the end of the
documentation of the amount of working day (make sure no-one else
toner and ink saved in this mode. wants to use it first, particularly if
Choose a printer that can print it’s part of a network)
double-sided and consider installing • set sleep mode default times to Laser printers use similar technology
a third paper bin for networked the lowest available setting that to photocopiers, so their energy
printers so that you can print drafts is convenient for your needs consumption is similar to that of small
and internal documents on paper that • print double-sided whenever you can photocopiers. Inkjet or modern dot
is already printed on one side. • use the Print Preview function matrix printers can provide very high
For small-volume printers that don’t to check layout and style print quality but they are slower than
have the ability to print double-sided, instead of printing laser printers.
make sure odd and even pages can • adjust your margins and type size Whilst inkjet printers are often
be printed easily. to fit more on the page cheaper than laser printers, the cost of
• use paper with the highest recycled buying new ink cartridges may make
content the manufacturer or supplier them more expensive in the long run.
recommends for your printer You can cut down the cost and their
environmental impact by refilling
• use ink and toner saving settings the inkjet cartridges—either through
• recycle or refill toner and ink cartridges. commercial refillers or do-it-yourself
Table 2 sets out the ENERGY STAR kits. Cartridges can often be refilled
guidelines covering standard desktop four or five times while maintaining
printers such as inkjet, laser/LED acceptable print quality.
(light emitting diode), dot matrix and Many companies now recycle laser
high end colour printers (thermal wax cartridges too. Long-life cartridges that
transfer, colour laser and high end are usually cheaper to use per page are
laser-quality). also available. Some of the newer laser
printers, such as the Kyocera Ecosys
ones, have a long-lasting print
drum and require only toner refills.
This reduces both environmental
impacts and costs.
Rated printer speed (pages per minute) Sleep mode (watts) Default time to sleep mode (minutes)
0 < ppm ≤ 10 ≤10 ≤5
10 < ppm ≤ 20 ≤ 20 ≤ 15
20 < ppm ≤ 30 ≤ 30 ≤ 30
30 < ppm ≤ 44 ≤ 40 ≤ 60
44 < ppm ≤ 75 ≤ 60
100 15
0 0
Laser, Laser, Efficient laser, Inkjet
non-Energy Star Energy Star operated efficiently1
Note
1. An efficient laser printer operated efficiently would not be left on continuously
250 37.5
200 30.0
150 22.5
Thermal paper can cost about two
and a half times as much as plain 100 15.0
paper, and plain paper already printed
on one side is often reused in fax 50 7.5
machines. For laser and LED
machines, you will need to check
that reusing paper is covered by the 0 0
manufacturer’s warranty.Whilst using Laser, Laser, Inkjet Laser,
Energy Star Energy Star very efficient
a 100 metre roll of thermal paper a disabled
week would cost more than $3,000
over five years, reusing plain paper
over the same period would cost only
$400. Another problem with thermal
faxes is that the image fades over
time and faxes often have to be
photocopied onto plain paper anyway.
In many offices, faxes are transmitted
with a separate cover sheet and
individual transmission or status
reports are printed.This increases the
amount of paper used by one-third.
You can avoid the problem by using Scanners When you buy a scanner, follow the
general principles for buying green
stick-on labels or rubber stamps for office equipment.
the front pages of faxes and writing
in the name of the recipient, the date Only turn your scanner on when
and the number of pages being sent. In most offices you want to use it.
Fax modems and electronic fax scanners are used To meet ENERGY STAR requirements
devices connected to computers or only occasionally. scanners must be able to enter a sleep
printers can be very energy-efficient mode of 12 watts or less in no more
but if they require a computer or
Switch yours off for than 15 minutes.There are some scanners
printer to be left on when they would most of the time. on the market with a power rating for
otherwise be switched off, they can sleep mode of about 3 watts, but most
lead to significant energy use. Many are three to four times that amount.
devices have adequate buffer memory Generally, high resolution scanners
to store incoming faxes until the use more energy in sleep mode than
printer is next turned on. lower quality ones. However, there are
For most purposes, however, a few high resolution machines at
email is likely to be the cheapest, the energy-efficient end of the scale.
convenient and environmentally Consult the manufacturer regarding
sound option available. the ‘sleep mode’ energy rating.
In fact, for many businesses fax traffic While relatively rare a few years ago,
has dropped off markedly with the scanners are now one of the fastest
widespread use of email. growing segments of the office equipment
market and are commonly included in
Examples of the electricity-based home/small office computing packages.
greenhouse gas emissions from fax
machines operating under different In most offices scanners are only used
power management regimes are occasionally.They can therefore be
shown in Figure 7. switched off for most of the time.
Networked scanners can be switched off
outside working hours and during office
hours if they are not used very much.
Multifunction device speed Low-power mode Recovery time Sleep mode Sleep mode Automatic duplex
(images per minute = ipm) (watts) 30 seconds (watts) default mode time (minutes)
0 < ipm ≤ 10 Not applicable Not applicable ≤ 15 ≤ 15 No
10 < ipm ≤ 20 Not applicable Not applicable ≤ 70 ≤ 30 No
20 < ipm ≤ 44 3.85 x ipm + 50 Yes ≤ 80 ≤ 60 Optimal
44 < ipm ≤ 100 3.85 x ipm + 50 Recommended ≤ 95 ≤ 90 Optimal
100 < ipm 3.85 x ipm + 50 Recommended ≤ 105 ≤ 120 Optimal
The advantages of MFDs include If you use any of the four functions
systems integration, ease of use, office relatively infrequently, it may cost
space savings and often significantly you more because you can’t turn that
lower capital costs compared to buying function off while the machine is
several equipment items performing on for other functions.This may be
the same range of functions. Choosing most significant if your need for
an MFD over individual pieces of photocopying is light.There could also
equipment can also create significant be extra costs involved if you need to
savings in embodied energy, materials keep the fax on after hours, because
and environmental impacts. the whole machine has to be left on.
Comparing the recurrent financial and Given the recent history of design
environmental performance of MFDs improvements in the very best office
and single function machines can equipment, it is likely that more
be quite complicated. For example, efficient MFDs will become available.
whilst the lowest power sleep mode
for a copier/printer/fax/scanner listed
on the ENERGY STAR Product
Database is 45 watts, it is possible to
find single function machines which
sleep at about a quarter of that.
COMMERCIAL OFFICE Figure 8 Annual greenhouse gas emissions from office equipment for
This case study considers a typical a typical commercial office.
office of 200 people using the 300 45.0
following equipment:
Tonnes greenhouse gas
50 7.5
0 0
1 2 3 4 5
Scenario
Note: Citipower, Tariff: Contract Demand Time of Use L, July 2000
HOME OFFICE Selecting the most efficient equipment Based on paper use of 80 sheets per
A home office has a personal available, and switching it on only when day, using ordinary office paper would
computer, fax machine, inkjet printer, needed, as well as enabling the ENERGY cost around $240 each year. Efficient
scanner and small photocopier. STAR features will cut electricity costs paper use, reuse of paper printed
and impacts to less than 20% of the on one side, purchase of premium
If this equipment is left on cost of equipment left on all the time. recycled paper and recycling of all
continuously, it will generate annual paper no longer needed could cut this
greenhouse gas emissions of around If the office used a laptop computer
and either the best available printer, by 70%, saving around $170 on annual
1.8 tonnes, with an electricity bill paper costs. Annual greenhouse gas
of around $220. Switching off the fax, scanner and copier, or a small
combination printer/fax/copier/scanner emissions from paper use would be
equipment outside working hours reduced from around 700 kilograms
will cut greenhouse gas emissions by and enabled the ENERGY STAR
features, greenhouse gas emissions to less than 50 kilograms.
more than 60% and save $135 each
year on energy bills. would fall to around 150 kilograms of
greenhouse gas each year, and annual
energy costs would fall to under $20,
which is more than a 90% reduction.