New York Energy $mart^SM Offices Project

Step Five: Implement Measures

Once your energy savings analyses in Step Four are complete, you should meet with the key decision-maker groups and facilitators to discuss your results and establish a plan for implementing measures. The implementation will include establishing and enforcing policies for purchase, leasing, power management, and shutdown of equipment.

Power Management of Existing Equipment

Data collected and analyzed in the NYSERDA demonstration determined that the majority of savings are from power management and shutdown (at night and weekends) of appropriate office equipment. ENERGY STAR® office equipment should be delivered with the power management features already enabled, but often that is not the case. In addition, equipment users or IT staff may disable these features for a variety of reasons.

ENERGY STAR provides a number of free, downloadable software options that are described on their website to quickly enable the power management features of computer monitors. These include EZ Save and EZ GPO for networked systems and EZ Wizard for non-networked systems. In addition, the ENERGY STAR website includes commercially available software that provide additional features for managing network systems.

For other types of office equipment, you will need to follow manufacturers' directions after determining, during the audit, which equipment have power saving features that are not enabled. These include copiers, fax machines, printers, and other office equipment.

Networked computers can also be set to shut down during certain hours. Other office equipment will need to be shut down manually when not in use, which will require the support of end-users or the selection of designated personnel to police the equipment. In addition, you may need to issue a directive—either from the chief administrator or IT staff—discussing the benefits and requirements of enabling and powering down equipment when not in use. There are also examples of programs developed by universities to encourage students in residence halls to enable power savings options on their personal computers.

Equipment Purchasing and Leasing Policies

For new or leased equipment, it is important to establish policies that ensure only ENERGY STAR equipment is procured and that the vendor delivers and installs the equipment with the power management features already enabled. Most new office equipment sold today is ENERGY STAR compliant and any office equipment ordered through state contracts with New York State Office of General Services (NYS OGS) are required to be ENERGY STAR. Nevertheless, an ENERGY STAR purchasing policy is an important part of the program for two reasons. First, some equipment is still on the market that is not ENERGY STAR compliant. Second, while the ENERGY STAR program requires that manufacturer's ship equipment with the power management features enabled, vendors and providers of outsourced maintenance services frequently turn these features off.

Several resources are available to purchasing departments to help establish ENERGY STAR procurement policies. A fact sheet that outlines the benefits of purchasing energy efficient equipment is available for procurement specialists and the EPA maintains a web site on energy-efficient purchasing (www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=bulk_purchasing.bus_purchasing). The site provides sample procurement language that can be dropped into current contracts as well as information on the specifications and attributes of ENERGY STAR equipment. Your purchasing staff can also participate in Internet presentations on purchasing-related topics and review current ENERGY STAR purchasing specifications via this site.

Copiers are one of the biggest consumers of energy in the office. Copiers are often leased, and energy efficient features may not be specified in leasing contracts. Confirm that your copier vendor or supplier has enabled the energy saving features. In addition, there are ENERGY STAR copiers that are “best” models in that they use 10 or less watts when in “low power” and recover more quickly to print ready status (less than 20 seconds) to reduce user complaints.

End-User Education and Outreach

For the program to be effective and sustainable, an employee education campaign should be included to explain equipment enabling and shutdown policies and to obtain staff support. You should keep end-user groups informed on why you are implementing a power management plan and brief them at every step of the process. Staff presentations should discuss audit findings and potential energy cost savings estimates. Most importantly, a process should be developed to keep staff apprised of power management developments. When employees understand the direct cause and effect of energy efficiency, they are more likely to remember to switch equipment off when they leave the office and less inclined to be frustrated when waiting for copiers or printers to warm up.

Ensure that new hires receive the energy efficiency message from the time they walk in the door. Incorporate training into employee orientations and address the topic in employee handbooks so new employees realize from the outset that power management is an organizational priority. Next, make sure that energy-efficient actions become second nature to all employees. Regular reminders about turning off equipment at night and on weekends will ensure that power management measures are always top of mind. These can be as simple and inexpensive as office-wide “broadcast e-mail” campaigns or placing posters near copiers or other high-use equipment.

Follow-up audits or spot checks of equipment should be conducted once or twice a year to ensure continuing power management of energy-saving features and shut down at night. Performing quick evening audits after the program has been underway for a few months not only helps evaluate compliance; it also allows you to judge whether the education process and outreach materials have been successful.

Finally, annual recaps of your office's power management policies and achieved energy-savings in staff meetings or via memo will help ensure compliance with procurement and power management policies related to ENERGY STAR office equipment.

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© 2004 New York State Energy Research and Development Authority