Using ENERGY STAR® qualified products (a designation given by the Environmental Protection Agency) can translate into a significant reduction of energy costs for your practice. An ENERGY STAR®
certification means that the qualified device has met certain criteria for energy-efficiency. For PCs to receive ENERGY STAR® distinction, they must meet the 5.0 specifications but all you really need to know are the benefits you'll enjoy from ENERGY STAR® products:
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They produce less heat and reduce cooling loads by about 15%, and up to 30% in warmer climates
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They use about half as much electricity - saving half in utility costs
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They automatically go into "sleep" mode after periods of inactivity
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Computers use 75% less energy in "sleep" mode
So when you're researching PCs for your medical practice, be sure to look for the ENERGY STAR logo or label. ENERGY STAR 5.0 is available on HP Notebooks and Minis and select Advanced Business Desktops and Elite Business Desktops.
Factoid: An ENERGY STAR® qualified PC uses 75% less electricity than PCs without enabled power management features.
2.
Understand EPEAT® product ratings
EPEAT® evaluates electronic products according to three tiers of environmental performance – Bronze, Silver and Gold. The complete set of performance criteria includes 23 required criteria and 28 optional
criteria in 8 categories. To qualify for acceptance as an EPEAT® product, it must conform to all the required criteria. Manufacturers may pick and choose among the optional criteria to boost their EPEAT® baseline "score" to achieve a higher-ranking level as follows:
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EPEAT® Bronze: Product meets all required criteria
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EPEAT® Silver: Product meets all required criteria plus as least 50% of the optional criteria that apply to the product type being registered.
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EPEAT® Gold: Product meets all required criteria plus at least 75% of the optional criteria that apply to the product type being registered.
Rest assured that HP has a wide selection of EPEAT®-qualified PCs, many of which include the GOLD rating, so remember to check energy-efficiency specifications before you purchase.
Factoid: HP was the first to achieve EPEAT® Gold certification with the HP rp5700 Business Desktop PC.
3.
Replace old CRT monitors
LCD technology provides up to 70% power savings and up to twice the lifespan of CRT monitors1 so it's a no-brainer for your medical practice to replace the fleet of CRTs as soon as possible. When you decide to
make the transition, remember that all HP Business Monitors are either EPEAT® Silver– or Gold– rated, meaning they feature low power consumption and LCD technology to meet EPEAT®'s strict standards for energy efficiency.
Purchasing new energy-efficient technology will certainly help in the future, but adjusting your day-to-day habits to conserve energy right now can reduce your utility costs almost immediately.
Get started by following these four high-impact, energy-saving tips today:
1.
Turn off your PC: If you are planning to leave your PC for a significant amount of time or are leaving for the day, turn off your PC. The myth that it costs more in power to turn it off and on or that it compromises the life of the computer is just that, a myth.
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Use PC power saving features: Check to ensure you are taking advantage of the power saving features on your PCs. These put hardware like hard drives and/or the computer monitor into idle mode or turn it off while not in use. Idle mode consumes between 20 to 50 times less energy. Windows® users can find the power saving settings in the Control Panel. It might be necessary to tweak the values for turning off the computer monitor, hard drives and setting a system standby time to suit your individual needs. The lower the time setting the more energy that is saved.
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Say no to screensavers: Screensavers do not save energy. Turning off the monitor instead of running screensavers saves lots of energy.
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Turn down monitor brightness: Turning down the brightness of the computer monitor, or any other monitor actually, saves energy. This is actually a good tip for users with laptops, netbooks and other mobile devices including cell phones too.
Factoid: 12 people using the power saving features on their computer can have the same reduction in carbon dioxide as taking a car off the road for an entire year.
