New York Energy $martSM Offices Project
What is ENERGY STAR®
 ENERGY STAR® is a brand label for appliances and equipment with significant energy efficiency characteristics. This voluntary labeling program for manufacturers was designed to provide consumers with information about energy-efficient equipment. The ENERGY STAR program is managed jointly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE). To date, American consumers have purchased more than 1 billion ENERGY STAR qualified products. Products in more than 40 categories are eligible for the ENERGY STAR.
According to the ENERGY STAR web site, an ENERGY STAR qualified monitor, in low-power or “sleep” mode, uses 90% less electricity than monitors without power management features. Qualifying ENERGY STAR monitors automatically enter two successive low-power modes of less than or equal to 15 watts and 8 watts after a period of inactivity. The ENERGY STAR web site provides other estimates of the potential savings from qualifying office equipment. Some examples include:
- ENERGY STAR copiers and fax machines that "sleep" or power down to low-power mode when not active can use 40% less electricity compared to standard models.
- Printers can save 60% in electricity use by powering down to low-power mode.
- Scanners can save up to 50% in electricity use by powering down.
More information on the potential savings from ENERGY STAR equipment is available on the www.energystar.gov web site.
The Value of Power management
While many types of ENERGY STAR®-labeled products are designed to be 10-15% more energy-efficient than the federal minimum energy-efficiency standard, ENERGY STAR office equipment include power management options that must be "enabled" to achieve energy savings in computers, monitors, printers, copiers, and faxes. The user can enable these options to direct the equipment to "power down" (or "go to sleep") after a specified period of inactivity, thereby using less energy until the piece of equipment is "awakened" for use. Because most office equipment is not operated continuously when switched on, enabling power management features can save significant amounts of energy. For example, a typical ENERGY STAR computer monitor uses approximately 60-90 watts of electricity when in active use. When in “sleep” mode, however, that amount is reduced to only 2-10 watts.
Turning the equipment off at night or when not in use over several hours provides significant electric savings. Research conducted by the U. S. EPA in office buildings outside of New York State found that 65% of the PC monitors are not turned off at night. NYSERDA found similar results for some counties when they conducted equipment audits during non-business hours.
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