What makes a computer Energy Star material?

Ever wonder why some computer equipment qualifies for Energy Star rating and others don't?  Me too.  Here are some facts from the Energy Star website.

Product criteria must show that the equipment can:

• Use energy efficient power supply.
• Operate efficiently in multiple modes of operation (Off, Sleep, and Idle).
• Include and enable power management features of the system and provide user education about these features.

 
You Should Know...

 

General: By leaving the machine on around the clock, you run up your electric bill, you suck in dust and you make yourself more vulnerable to power surges.

   

An ENERGY STAR label is not a guarantee that your machine is saving energy. Always check to ensure that the ENERGY STAR features are enabled.

   

Computers: A well-designed ENERGY STAR qualified computer will not lose its network connection, which could lead to a loss of data, while in the low-power or sleep mode. Additionally, ENERGY STAR qualified computers with networking capabilities have the ability to enable and disable Wake On LAN for Sleep mode, allowing greater use of low power modes without a loss of IT system maintenance capabilities.

 

 Monitors: Switching on and off the monitor five times or more a day increases the frequency of faults in power transistors in the control and deflection parts only after the machine has been used 20 to 30 years.

  

Screen Savers: Despite common belief, a screen saver does not save energy. In fact, more often than not, a screen saver will not only draw power for the monitor but will also keep the CPU from shutting down.

  

Games: Many popular computer games, when running in the background while multitasking, will not allow the computer to go to sleep-even if the game is paused.