Funded by Technology guide Office equipment Best Practice Northern Ireland enter Contents Introduction 03 Quick view 05 IT equipment 06 Refreshment 08 Portable heaters 09 Checklist 10 Further services from the Carbon Trust 12 Office equipment Introduction At many commercial and public sector sites, office equipment is one of the biggest consumers of energy – and one that staff have direct control over So it represents a great opportunity to involve staff in saving energy and improving efficiency Menu This guide looks at some typical energyconsuming items of equipment, and how you can minimise the amount of energy they can use We have covered the following in this guide: • IT equipment • Printers and photocopiers Each of the nine guides in the series includes real-life examples of savings made by local companies The guides set out simple steps to help you save energy and improve your competitiveness Other guides in the Best Practice Northern Ireland series: • Refreshments • Portable heaters Since 2002 the Carbon Trust has carried out more than 3,500 energy surveys in Northern Ireland This guide is part of a series that aims to help you benefit from the findings of these surveys Northern Ireland companies have already saved up to £200 million by acting on Carbon Trust recommendations At the same time, they’ve reduced their carbon emissions by over 1.3 million tonnes of CO2 You can save in the same way HELP • Energy generation • Compressed air • Energy management • Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) • Lighting • Motors and Drives • Process control • Refrigeration systems Office equipment “ Office equipment is the fastest growing energy user in the business world, accounting for 15% of the total electricity used in offices This is expected to rise to 30% by 2020 ” Office equipment Quick view Bad practice Good practice • Equipment is left on overnight • People take responsibility for the equipment that is under their control • Equipment with an energy saving mode does not have it enabled Menu • The energy performance of new equipment is not considered when buying it • The opportunity to upgrade old style monitors to flat screen monitors has not been taken • There are no options for double-sided printing • A photocopier or other piece of equipment is next to temperature controls • Staff are allowed to bring electric heaters and kettles from home without restriction • Fridges are old and in poor condition • Vending machines are left fully operational outside working hours HELP • All office equipment has energy saving features enabled • Where possible, the network is used to monitor and control PCs being left on • Only equipment with a good energy rating is purchased • Any vending machines are controlled to minimise out of hours energy use – suppliers are encouraged to provide energy efficient units Office equipment IT Equipment As Figure shows, personal computers and monitors are responsible for two-thirds of the energy consumed by office equipment Menu Figure Energy use of business equipment in the typical office Fax machines Photocopiers PCs Printers Monitors Based on 10 PCs with monitors, plus photocopier, fax machine and laser printer, all with average consumption and no standby enabled Taken from CTV005 HELP Servers and networks also represent a significant proportion of office/commercial energy use These are not covered here, but there are techniques to reduce the energy use of the IT infrastructure, from virtualisation to low energy cooling systems The Chartered Institute for IT is a good place to find further information on these techniques PCs and monitors are an ideal opportunity for individual staff to take responsibility for energy management, as their computer is usually the one item of workplace equipment each person has control over Studies have shown that the average PC is only used for a small fraction of the time that it is on, as people leave them on while making tea, attending meetings or undertake other work that does not require the PC People are often reluctant to switch their computers off during the day, as they can take time to reboot But most operating systems will allow you to switch off different parts of the system to save power In large organisations the IT department may be responsible for setting power saving profiles, while in smaller companies it may be up to individuals If your organisation has a network, consider using network software that can monitor and control PC usage – for example, by sending automatic emails to people who leave their computers on overnight To reduce the energy consumed by equipment, your IT department will need to collaborate with staff to find the best way to minimise energy use IT professionals are more aware than ever about energy use and increasingly concerned with how to reduce it Office equipment Case study: IT network control Menu Turning off one PC may not seem much of a step, but imagine the impact on a large company like Ford in the US It announced in March 2010 that it was implementing a companywide PC power management programme that it estimates will save it $1.2 million and reduce its carbon footprint by 16,000-25,000 metric tons every year A company spokesman observed that as many as 60% of PC users did not shut down their PCs at the end of the day Once it has been rolled out in the US, the software will be deployed worldwide Printers and photocopiers Network printers and photocopiers are usually shared within an office, so people don’t feel as much responsibility for them as they their own computers Most modern photocopiers and network printers have energy saving or hibernation modes – if yours do, make sure you enable them A simple way to save energy and cost is to try and minimise the amount of printing or photocopying that is done Many organisations add a “don’t print unless necessary” footer on emails, which accepts that hard copies will sometimes be needed But email chains are often longer than you realise, and it’s easy to print 10 pages when the information you wanted was on page one Try to reduce this by checking how much you need to print, or regularly trimming lengthy email chains You should also remember that in an airconditioned office the heat generated by IT equipment has to be removed by the cooling system So you pay twice; once to generate the power and again to remove the heat it creates HELP In an air conditioned office, equipment left on needlessly can also result in additional energy wastage as the heat generated will need to be cooled by the air conditioning system; so by switching-off once can save you double! Office equipment Refreshment Menu All offices have some provision for refreshments, though facilities can vary from a simple tea station to a fully-equipped kitchen Staff can save energy in the same way they would at home by: • using energy efficient kettles and only boiling the water needed • keeping fridges closed and making sure they are defrosted • only running dishwashers when full and at the lowest effective temperature Many workplaces use energy efficient water boilers instead of kettles It may also make sense to provide a kettle for out of hours users to avoid leaving a vending machine on HELP Seven day timers are often used on vending machines This can save energy, particularly when wired rather than plug-in timers are used (don’t remove the plug from the vending machine as this might invalidate the warranty – use a time controlled socket instead) Timers with battery backup are also a good idea to avoid losing time in case of power interruptions Remember to reset the timer when the clocks change Only fit time clocks on machines that are safe to turn off outside working hours Talk to you vending machine supplier and see if they can offer a more energy efficient machine Further reading How to operate your office equipment efficiently (CTL006) Office based companies sector overview (CTV007) Fitting a time clock to vending machines such as this can payback in under a year Office equipment Portable heaters Menu All portable heaters in the workplace should be subject to Portable Appliance Testing (PAT), which enables you to police their use The PAT label can be used to distinguish between official and ‘illicit’ heaters You can then keep a log of who PAT labelled heaters have been issued to, and unlabelled items can be removed from the workplace In one hospital where the Energy Manager is also the Fire Officer an extreme version of this system is in action – he has an official mandate to unplug and cut the leads off any unofficial heaters on site! Portable heaters can affect the office’s general temperature control If you genuinely need one, there is probably a problem with your heating system If it’s not possible to fix the heating, make sure that any supplementary heating is correctly installed and operated HELP Case study: Switch off policy One company with a number of sites around Northern Ireland wanted to demonstrate the potential for simple savings by turning off unwanted equipment They did this by organising ‘switch off Wednesday’ when all sites made the effort to turn off unwanted equipment This was then followed up using online energy metering They saw energy savings of between 3% and 7% and proved this could be done without affecting business or working conditions A 2kW heater costs around 20p per hour to run Running for eight hours a day each heater would use £8 worth of power a week, or over £220 a year Office equipment Checklist What Why How Are all computers, printers and associated equipment switched off when not in use? Leaving computer equipment switched on for long periods when it is not in use wastes money The heat given out by equipment when switched on may encourage the use of electric fans and add to air conditioning costs Identify equipment, which can be switched off when not in use Menu Use green and red different shaped labels to indicate which equipment can be switched off and which must be left switched on Make the appropriate people aware that green-coded equipment should be switched off when not in use Consider using network software to turn off unused equipment HELP Are photocopiers switched to stand-by mode when not in use for long periods? Many photocopiers have a stand-by mode (sleep mode) that will reduce the power without switching off the machine Encourage people to switch photocopiers to stand-by mode during long periods when they are not in use Do you check regularly whether there is any use of unauthorised portable electric heaters? Portable electric heaters are very expensive to run Generally, they not have time switches or thermostats and are often left running continuously Added problems can occur if the area they are in is air conditioned Check regularly for use of unauthorised portable electric heaters If people are regularly using portable electric heaters, check the heating arrangements for that area Note: There may be an issue with Portable Appliance Testing in that unofficial heaters may not have been tested Where possible enable automatic use of stand-by mode 10 Office equipment What Why How Is a regular check made on the condition of seals on fridges and freezers? Worn or damaged seals increase refrigeration costs by allowing warm air to enter into refrigerated space and cold air to leak out Set up a programme for regular inspection of seals Have you checked that tea urns are not left boiling continuously? Continuous operation of tea urns is generally unnecessary and wastes money Check the way that tea urns are used Replace all seals that show any signs of wear or damage Install instantaneous water boilers where possible HELP Have you replaced old metal kettles with modern jug kettles? Older kettles cannot heat a small quantity of water If you boil twice the amount of water you need, it will cost twice as much Replace older kettles with new jug types if small quantities of water are being heated Menu Have you thought about specifying energy-efficient computers and office equipment? The energy efficiency of equipment varies – some models use much less energy than others Make sure that energy efficiency is always included in purchasing specifications Some equipment can be switched to stand-by mode when not active 11 Office equipment Further services from the Carbon Trust The Carbon Trust advises businesses and public sector organisations on their opportunities in a sustainable, low carbon world We offer a range of information, tools and services including: Menu Carbon Trust Advisory – Delivers strategic and operational advice on  www.carbontrust.co.uk  www.carbontrust.co.uk/advisory Publications – We have a library of publications detailing energy saving Carbon Trust Certification – Delivers certification and verification services to techniques for a range of sectors and technologies companies and runs the Carbon Trust Standard and Carbon Reduction Label  www.carbontrust.co.uk/publications  www.carbontrust.co.uk/certification Case Studies – Our case studies show that it’s often easier and less expensive than you might think to bring about real change Carbon Trust Implementation – Delivers services to business in support of  www.carbontrust.co.uk/casestudies HELP Website – Visit us at www.carbontrust.co.uk for our full range of advice and services  www.carbontrust.co.uk/implementation sustainable business value to large organisations implementation of energy efficient equipment and energy efficiency financing 12 The Carbon Trust is a not-for-profit company with the mission to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy We provide specialist support to business and the public sector to help cut carbon emissions, save energy and commercialise low carbon technologies By stimulating low carbon action we contribute to key UK goals of lower carbon emissions, the development of low carbon businesses, increased energy security and associated jobs We help to cut carbon emissions now by: • providing specialist advice and finance to help organisations cut carbon • setting standards for carbon reduction We reduce potential future carbon emissions by: • opening markets for low carbon technologies • leading industry collaborations to commercialise technologies • investing in early-stage low carbon companies www.carbontrust.co.uk The Carbon Trust receives funding from Government, including the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and Invest Northern Ireland Whilst reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the information contained within this publication is correct, the authors, the Carbon Trust, its agents, contractors and sub-contractors give no warranty and make no representation as to its accuracy and accept no liability for any errors or omissions All trademarks, service marks and logos in this publication, and copyright in it, are the property of the Carbon Trust (or its licensors) Nothing in this publication shall be construed as granting any licence or right to use or reproduce any of the trademarks, services marks, logos, copyright or any proprietary information in any way without the Carbon Trust’s prior written permission The Carbon Trust enforces infringements of its intellectual property rights to the full extent permitted by law The Carbon Trust is a company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales under company number 4190230 with its registered office at 4th Floor Dorset House, Stamford Street, London SE1 9PY Published in the UK: March 2012 © The Carbon Trust 2012 All rights reserved CTG031 v2 CTG031 ... 30% by 2020 ” Office equipment Quick view Bad practice Good practice • Equipment is left on overnight • People take responsibility for the equipment that is under their control • Equipment with... Other guides in the Best Practice Northern Ireland series: • Refreshments • Portable heaters Since 2002 the Carbon Trust has carried out more than 3,500 energy surveys in Northern Ireland This guide... units Office equipment IT Equipment As Figure shows, personal computers and monitors are responsible for two-thirds of the energy consumed by office equipment Menu Figure Energy use of business equipment