Audio and Video - Procurement

The modern office utilises many different appliances in order to provide its business services.

The size of the equipment purchased should meet the requirements of the business as closely as possible.

Wide-screen televisions with stereo or surround sound are less energy efficient than televisions with more basic functions.

Staff responsible for procuring office equipment should specify that suppliers provide full details of energy consumption and nameplate ratings.

One of the simplest ways of identifying energy efficient equipment is by choosing ones with a recognised energy label such as Energy star, German blue Angel, Swiss Energy 2000, Nordic white swan and TCO’99.

Labelled office equipment products save energy by powering down and going to sleep and sometimes shutting off while not in use.

This equipment features power management and uses about half of the energy of conventional equipment whilst retaining all of the performance features and helping to extend the equipment life.

Today, virtually all office equipment manufacturers now integrate power management features into the basic design of office equipment.

Manufacturers have already taken measures to reduce television and videocassette recorder standby energy consumption in some models.

These tend to be left in standby mode for relatively long periods leading to considerable energy consumption.

One way to reduce standby energy consumption is the auto power off (APO) feature which turns the equipment completely off after a pre-programmed amount of time.

Audio and Video - User Behaviour

Do not leave televisions, videocassette recorders or music centres on standby

Leaving any equipment in standby mode is wasteful of energy. Televisions, video cassette recorders and music centres require almost no time to return to being fully operational and should not be left in standby mode.

Properly managed equipment can save up to 85% of the running costs of 24-hour operation.

Turn off all office equipment at night, weekends and during extended periods of inactivity.

Overhead projectors should be kept clean and turned off immediately after use

Overhead projectors use powerful light bulbs to project an image on to a screen or a wall.

They generate a light of heat and are relatively heavy consumers of energy.

They should be kept clean to ensure that air can get to the bulb and keep it cool.

They should be turned off immediately after use because their heat output has a warming effect on the office and will increase the load on the air-conditioning units within air-conditioned buildings.