Every little bit that we can do to conserve helps the environment and saves money too. Here are some tips for Greening your machines.
- Power Management: he power consumption from leaving our computers on all the time, is staggering. If your in the habit of turning off the computer when you go home from the office that’s great, but we forget about the energy that is still being used when the computer is not being used, while you go to lunch, or are doing something else. “the biggest savings come from enabling Monitor Power Management (MPM) and Computer Power Management (CPM) to put monitors and PCs into low power states when not in use. This saves between $20 and $100 per PC per year, and requires little staff time and capital expenditure.” Read More
- Tips for reducing power consumption in computers and peripherals: from EDTECH.com
- Check your computer manual to find out how to turn on your energy-conservation settings.
- Screen savers do not reduce energy use for monitors. Instead of screen savers, automatically switch to sleep mode or manually turn off monitors to save power.
- Energy Star computers and monitors only save energy when power management is activated on the computer.
- To maximize power savings with notebook PCs, put the AC adapter on a power strip that can be turned off because the transformer in an AC adapter draws power even when the notebook PC is not plugged in.
- Don’t forget peripherals and components — printers, copiers, scanners, processors, motherboards and power supplies all have potential energy-saving features
- Bamboo, Crank and Solar Powered cell Phones: With all the millions of cell phones out there only about 10% get recycled.
- How about a phone made out of sustainable Bamboo with a cranking charger
- The case of the phone is totally degradable, after removing the battery, antenna and the print board it can be thrown in the compost bin. The “Bamboo” is made out of bio-plastics of renewable raw materials such as corn, and bamboo which is also a renewable resource.
- The battery can be recharged with muscle power. It comes equipped with a cranking charger and a monochrome display for maximum efficiency. Read More
- Check out this great Solar Powered Charger
- How about a phone made out of sustainable Bamboo with a cranking charger
- Energy Star Appliances: When you need to replace appliances, of course go with the Energy Star Label, it will save you about a third on your energy bill. That’s a significant savings.
- How good is your HDTV at saving Energy: Before you buy your new HDTV, consult the following chart to see how energy efficient the new TV will be. HDTV power consumption compared
- Get Paid to Recycle Electronics: There are companies out there that will pay you for mailing in old electronic devices and others have buy back program. Here is a list of a few.
- Mail-In Program Free of Charge: The Post Office has come out with a pilot program that allows customers to recycle small electronics and inkjet cartridges by mailing them free of charge. Check it out: USPS
- Find a Responsible Recycler: Recycle your old electronics with an Environmentally Responsible Recycler:
That’s all for now…
electronics environment ewaste green machines high tech trash recycleMay 8th, 2008 at 10:04 am by bibi in Carbon Footprint, Energy, Environment, Living Green
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For the individual, it’s hard to navigate the endless amount of info on the web about generating wind and solar power. There are competing companies and claims and there are stats and figures that don’t mean anything to the novice. Then there are the issues about finding folks to install and maintain windmills and rooftop solar panels, not to mention the questions about storing unused power or feeding it back into the grid.
Where does one go to get a comprehensive overview of what companies provide which products, what items the homeowner needs or doesn’t need, what items are worth the extra bucks and what items are just overkill, what companies provide installation and service, and what the local laws might be about power going back in the grid? I’d like to be greener but I’m overwhelmed by the hunt for info. It’s a daunting task - even when searching locally, how does one know what retailers are worthwhile and what products to seek? Or does one purchase from a manufacturer and hire locals to install? How does one know what to ask for in order to get competitive quotes? Are there rating systems and price averages/expectations for products or installers or service companies?
Do you have any suggestions for a “Consumer Reports” of home solar and wind power production? Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide.
Hi Richard,
You are right it’s hard to go through all the info that is out there, unfortunately we are not at the place where it’s commonplace yet. I would start local and try to find companies that deal with solar and wind alternatives. I would first start out with your electricity company, they usually have a ton resources for helping you go solar and sell extra power back to them. Whatever company you use, always check on them with the better business bureau, make sure they are certified, (see article below).
Here are a couple of resources you can take a look at:
American Wind And Solar: http://www.awea.org/faq/rsdntqa.html
Rating Green Companies: http://g2bgreen.com/getting-your-business-certified-green
GE on Residential Solar System: http://www.gepower.com/prod_serv/products/solar/en/faqs/resid_sys.htm
Consumer Reports/Greener Choices: http://www.greenerchoices.org/energysolar.cfm
Greener Choices/Resources: http://www.greenerchoices.org/links.cfm
Hope this helps and thanks for stopping by…
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