{"id":17321,"date":"2016-12-15T06:42:33","date_gmt":"2016-12-15T06:42:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=17321"},"modified":"2016-12-15T06:42:33","modified_gmt":"2016-12-15T06:42:33","slug":"california-adopts-first-u-s-energy-saving-rules-for-computers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/technology\/california-adopts-first-u-s-energy-saving-rules-for-computers.html","title":{"rendered":"California adopts first U.S. energy-saving rules for computers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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California adopts first U.S. energy-saving rules for computers<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

California adopts first U.S. energy-saving rules for computers:-<\/strong> California regulators on Wednesday adopted the nation’s first mandatory energy efficiency rules for computers and monitors – devices that account for 3 percent of home electric bills and 7 percent of commercial power costs in the state.<\/span><\/p>\n

The state Energy Commission said that when fully implemented the industry-backed plan will save consumers $373 million a year and conserve at least as much electricity annually as it takes to power all of San Francisco’s households.<\/span><\/p>\n

Final approval at a meeting of the five-member commission in Sacramento capped several years spent developing the rules in collaboration with computer makers, consumer activists, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and other environmental groups.<\/span><\/p>\n

The new rules will cut greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion to generate power by 700,000 tons a year, the NRDC said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The standards work by setting benchmarks for machines’ overall energy use – focusing on when they are turned on but left inactive – and leave manufacturers flexibility to choose which efficiency measures are employed to meet the standards, an approach aimed at fostering innovation.<\/span><\/p>\n

The rules drew support from nearly 40 companies represented by the Information Technology Industry Council, including such Silicon Valley giants as HP Inc and Intel Corp.<\/span><\/p>\n

HP environmental compliance manager Paul Ford called the standards “groundbreaking,” describing them as “ambitious but achievable.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“This is a big deal,” said Mark Cooper, a policy analyst for the Consumer Federation of America, adding that computer ownership per capita in California ranks second in the world behind Sweden.<\/span><\/p>\n

In California, computers and monitors draw an estimated 5,610 gigawatt-hours of energy per year – representing roughly 3 percent of residential electric bills and 7 percent of power costs for commercial users – much of that while the devices sit idle.<\/span><\/p>\n

The NRDC has said the amount of power consumed by computers and monitors will be reduced by a third once there is a complete turnover in existing stocks of those devices.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first phase of the rules takes effect in January 2019 for desktop, laptop and notebook computers. The standards kick in for workstations and small-scale servers in January 2018 and for computer monitors in July 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

Video-game consoles, industrial computers, large-scale servers, tablets and other handheld devices are exempt.<\/span><\/p>\n

The standards will add about $14 to average retail costs of desktops, which are far less energy efficient than laptops, but will save consumers more than $40 in electric bills over five years, according to commission estimates.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over half of desktops typically in use in California now meet the first tier of the standards, which grow more stringent in 2021. Seventy-three percent of laptops already comply.<\/span><\/p>\n

Computer monitors have farther to go, with a compliance rate of just 14 percent among the 25 million units now installed in homes and businesses statewide.<\/span><\/p>\n

The latest rules could set a new standard for manufacturers everywhere by virtue of the size of the consumer market in California, which often leads the way in U.S. environmental initiatives.<\/span><\/p>\n

If the same standards are adopted nationwide, they could save U.S. consumers about $2.2 billion annually in electric bills while reducing energy generation by the equivalent output of seven coal-fired power plants, the NRDC said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-california-energy-computers-idUSKBN1431RV<\/span><\/div>\n

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