The more power we save, the less blackouts we`ll have. The modern office can be an energy glutton - but we can do a lot to reduce the watts we burn!
Power cuts have become the order of the day, as Eskom struggles to cope with South Africa`s electricity demands.
The scenario is a familiar one - it`s the last day of the month and your staff are broke. You`ve just loaded the last person onto the payroll system before you transfer their salaries and suddenly, without any warning, the power goes off. For hours!
Power outages have driven South Africans to distraction in the last few weeks as the ad hoc load-shedding last winter has given way to extended daily, rolling blackouts.
"A 20% shortfall in capacity means Eskom will have to make some serious investments in its infrastructure over the next few years to rebuild its reserve supply. The only short-term workaround for them is to cut demand," warns Kevin Wilson-Smith, Total Quality Manager at Gestetner.
Plans have been drafted to slash power use by 10% to 20% during the next seven years, and businesses could face a strict diet of power rationing, and even penalties if they don`t start saving electricity.
Office equipment and small power machines are one of the fastest growing areas of energy use in the business world. According to Carbon Trust, a UK company set up to fight climate change, this area currently accounts for 15% of all electrical energy used in UK offices, which could double by 2010. In the US, businesses pay more than $2 billion for the electricity used by office equipment, says the Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
"Managing these devices efficiently can reduce energy consumption (and therefore cost) by up to 70%, often at little or no extra cost," says Wilson-Smith.
Gestetner, under the Ricoh group, has introduced a number of initiatives to make its IT greener - from environmentally friendly design to special device features to save power.
Gestetner`s equipment is designed with standardised plastic materials and fewer screws, which means less time and money is needed to recycle it. High-speed double-sided printing, faster and more efficient than one-sided printing, saves time and paper. Special polymer toners conserve up to 25% of the ink used. In addition, the manufacturer has an ultra-low power sleep mode and quick start-up feature on its machines, meaning that businesses can save 80% of the power a machine uses, just by being on standby.
"Our energy crisis is going to intensify as we head towards the World Cup in 2010. While Eskom plans to invest billions or even trillions over the next 20 years, it will be a long time before the problem is resolved. Immediately adopting a greener approach to office practices is vital to ensure businesses` survival in the short-term," says Wilson-Smith.
Simple things companies can do to save electricity:
1. Pull the plug: Copiers are the most energy-intensive type of office equipment and use power even when sitting idle. Turn copiers off at night or on weekends. The same goes for printers.
2. Go duplex: Electricity is not only used to create documents, but also for the production of the paper on which it is printed. Set your printer and copier to automatically default to making two-sided prints and copies.
3. Recycle: Reduce paper use by printing on the blank side of used paper.
4. Think before you ink: Reams of paper end up in the dustbin due to margins running onto another page. Use your "print preview" feature to reduce the number of unwanted printouts.
5. Push the button: Printers are typically left on all the time, but only used for a small part of the day. Enable the energy-saving features on the device.
6. Get the right size: A mid-volume (20 to 44 copies per minute) copier in a low-volume office can use 70% more energy per page than an efficient low-volume (under 20 copies per minute) copier.
7. Start sharing: Printers are typically on all the time but often used for only a few hours each day. Let two low-volume departments share a printer.
8. Buy `lite`: Businesses often forget to calculate the energy costs when buying new office equipment. Look out for energy-efficient equipment with compatible features and performance next time.
9. Fan the flames: Buying more office equipment doesn`t just raise energy use - it also makes work areas hotter, requiring more cooling. Put these devices in areas with natural ventilation and good airflow to reduce the need for air-conditioning.
10. Eye the quality: Look out for the Energy Star logo when buying new office equipment, as it guarantees the inclusion of automatic power-management features to ensure better energy efficiency.
Share