Tags: energy saving, ICT, PC energy consumption, TCO Certified
Some say we need more power stations and if we’re going green then it’s got to be nuclear to fill the demand.
A scary scenario when there are already 400 nuclear power stations in the world leaving their radioactive waste for future generations to clean up, not to mention other risks with this source?
But is there really an energy crisis looming? Could it be that there would be enough to go around if we started to consume it more wisely?
The best way to avoid a crisis is through good management…and in this energy situation, the manager that has a big say over the amount of energy you’re using during the day, is YOU! You’re a self-employed energy tycoon with the right to hire & fire…& right now you might be thinking business could be better.
So, as I promised you in my new years resolution a couple of weeks ago, let me give you a simple first aid guide on how to cut back your energy consumption, your energy cost & green house gas emissions in one easy move at the office….and please try this at home also.
Just use this link:
http://www.tcodevelopment.com/pls/nvp/Document.Show?CID=4146&MID=255
It will direct you to our web site and an easy step by step guide on how to set up the energy saving function on your computer.
This set up will place your computer and screen automatically in a standby/sleep mode when you are not using it and it automatically starts it up again when you touch the mouse or keyboard.
Savings: For example: for a 19” TCO certified monitor this will mean a drop in energy consumption from approx 20 Watts to less than 1 watt during an estimated 3 hours of a working day (these power levels are not guaranteed if you do not have a TCO marked product). A computer & screen that is always on may cause 7kg of CO2/week from electricity production. If an energy saving function is active on your computer however, that level will sink to as little as 0.8kg CO2/week.
A low hanging fruit like this is something we can all reach from the comfort of our chairs…so enjoy this double energy saving, since my next tempting apple in a couple of weeks may take a bit more effort to reach 
Tags: All in One PC, Lenovo, single unit, space conserving, TCO Certified
All in One PCs – a computer and display in a single unit – are a great way to get the performance of a desktop PC without the cable clutter of a separate CPU and monitor. The compact design of an AIO also enables the user to conserve space on the desktop. Ideal where space is limited or when the user wants to maintain a clean look on the work surface or having a free space under the work surface.
TCO Certified is your assurance that your AIO delivers all the visual performance you expect from a freestanding monitor – outstanding color, luminance and resolution. It fulfills some of the toughest environmental criteria around – from strict limits on hazardous substances and energy consumption, to designed for recycling. It fulfils a brand commitment to socially responsible manufacturing practices. Add to this the criteria for safety, usability and low emissions and you can be sure that every product bearing the TCO Certified label is among the very best.
AIO is the latest addition to the family of TCO Certified for PCs. First out to certify AIO is Lenovo, hereby congratulated.
Read more: http://www.tcodevelopment.com/
Tags: choosing a projector, High Definition TV, image, image size, picture quality, projected image, projector, right projector screen size, TCO, TCO Certified, TCO development, viewing distance
I like the all new TCO Image size concept for Projectors. You will too and here’s why:
Getting bogged down in all the technical specifications of picture quality is the easy step to buying a Projector. It can spin your head so much that you may end up buying a projector that has more money guzzling performance than you need or even one that doesn’t meet your needs at all.
Much has been written about TVs and the screen size you should consider depending on the size of the room you’re viewing it in: A good High Definition experience deteriorates the further you sit from the screen. It’s said that to experience HD on a 32” TV you shouldn’t be more than 2meters from it and in a large living room that will mean a lot of empty space behind your armchair. So we go larger & larger and then we go bananas “Projectors”
So what about when it comes to choosing a projector? And you may well ask what the hell does the caption TCO Image size mean?
TCO Image size is the same size concept as with the TV:
First consider the screen size you want/need/have. It might be that screen hanging in the conference/meeting room or could even be that white bed sheet on the living room wall at home. When you know how much of that screen (in m2 or inches) that you’d like to fill with a projected image that will maintain visible High Quality up to the size you want, then TCO Certified gives you the next easy step by stating a projector’s maximum quality Image Size in just m² & inches.
Finally go out and buy a TCO Certified Projector that is a good match to your needs.
123 Easy Steps to getting your projector then:
Step 1. Find out the size of screen you want or have (just as you would a TV)
Step 2. Go to TCO Development’s web site and view the selection of TCO Certified projectors.
Step 3. Go buy and feel sure that the product also passes many of the toughest usability and environmental demands on the market.
Then with your Screen & Projector in place, stick your armchair anywhere you want in the living room.
Happy Viewing!
Tags: carbon footprint, dumping e-waste to developing countries, E-waste from USA, e-waste; Greenpeace, energy efficency, Green IT, Green IT Expo, ICT products, TCO Certified
Report from London Green IT Expo
My colleague Susanna and I went to London Green IT Expo, which took place on November 10-11th. We had expected to see some interesting innovations and hear some good discussions regarding green IT.
To some extend our expectations were met: There were a lot about energy efficiency and efforts to increase the carbon foot print.
But there were surprisingly very little about e-waste and recycling of ICT-products at Green IT Expo.
Research director Andy Lawrence from The 451 Group, held a presentation about the coming trends within green IT for the next five years. All of the trends he presented were about energy efficiency and none about how the industry and the users should act on decreasing the problems with e-waste.
But there was one exception: Catalina McGregor from Green ICT Delivery, HM Government’s CIO/CTO Council held an interesting presentation on the topic: Dirty ICT: What it is? And How Do You Clean Up Your Act. Ms McGregor showed some videoclips from Greenpeace that illustrated the huge problems e-waste from the so called developed countries are dumping in the third world. See video from Greenpeace: one from India and one from Ghana
The messages from these films are that the best way to decrease the problems with hazardous substanses from e-waste is to don’t have these substances in the ICT products at all. TCO Certified is working in this direction by having criteria on minimized levels of hazardous substances and that the products must be repaired for recycling. The goal is to ban all hazardous substances. Another thing you can do to decreasing problems with e-waste is to buy a product with good performance that has a long life time, so you will keep your product longer.
It is definitely time for the richer countries to make some significant efforts when it comes to e-waste. In 2009 no people in the world should be exposed for hazardous and toxic substances as led, mercury and cadmium etcetera. And it is also about time that e-waste will have a bigger share of the Green IT concept.
If you would like to know more about the e-waste from USA, see this film
Posted by Birgitta Halvarsson
Tags: electrical products, electronic products, European Union restriction of hazardous substances, hazardous substances, RoHS, sustainable IT products, TCO Certified
The European Union Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive plays an important role in promoting a transition to electrical and electronic products with less hazardous substances. The directive is currently being revised and TCO Certified strongly supports a legislation that helps guide the industry towards the development of more sustainable products. Please read our statement Time to move RoHS to the next level.
Tags: first, NEC, Projectors, TCO Certified, world
Today at an NEC Nordic partner event in Saltsjöbaden, outside Stockholm, TCO Development handed over the first certificates of TCO Certified Projectors 1.0 to NEC.
We are happy to have NEC as our first customer on TCO Certified projectors. For me personally it was very rewarding to participate in the event and get positive feedback on all the work we have put in to this project for the last two years. There is more to read at our web site. will get back to all of you with more information on the products and how we hope the criterions will be useful for you when you consider buying a projector next time I am blogging!
Posted by Annika Overodder
Tags: Asus, e-waste, environment, Green IT, lap top, laptop, TCO Certified
A dear friend of my wife’s – her Asus notebook PC- is ill. It’s only three years old and the battery is dead, the RAM is too small and she would need a bigger hard drive to fit all her photos. The symptoms don’t sound too serious but listen to this. Asus does not sell the battery type for this relic any longer, the RAM type can not be expanded (at least not by Asus) and the only hard drive that can fit is only 80GB (20GB larger than the present one). This PC is three years old and already facing its death! The only economically sound option, from the user’s perspective, is to buy a new one and add some e-waste to the world.
Posted by Martin Soderberg
Tags: readability, reading pads, TCO Certified, usability
TCO Certified requires high image quality while reading on the
TCO certified displays. This guarantees that the reader can easily
read text, in good contrast and luminance, different colours
and other details. Usability matters!
Within short the first South Corean black and white 6″ reading
pad will be launched, in intense concurrence by Kindle by Amazona
and Daily Edition by Sony. Simultaneously Google is scanning all the
world´s literature books to be read digitally, which is a huge project
indeed! I hope that usability matters also here. But I wonder, can
the reader be sure about usability and readability in this future
digital medium? The reader is not supposed to print out, but read
only through a display.
Read more at Google and Kindle webs.
Tags: Green IT, ICT products, laptop, Netbook, Notebook, TCO Certified, usability
– mercury free, ultra energy-efficient and ergonomically designed
The Samsung N120 ultralight netbook is today announced as the first in the world to achieve the leading environmental and usability standard, TCO Certified. Free from mercury and other hazardous materials, offering outstanding energy efficiency and ergonomically designed keyboard and display – the N120 now adds the worlds toughest environmental and usability certifications – TCO Certified – to its list of features. See http://www.tcodevelopment.com to visit our press room for full info. 
Tags: carbon footprint, Computer displays, demand, eco labels, environmental aspects, environmental certification program, high performance, Mobile phones, pritners, procurers, purchasers, TCO Certified, TVs
I want to minimize my carbon footprint, I don´t want to contribute to use of hazardous substances nor increase e-waste prematurely due to discarding product that doesn’t perform well. I know many others share my opinion. Nevertheless, when looking for a new mobile phone it is almost impossible to get information about the environmental aspects or how well the mobile phone communicates.
Great demand for eco-labelled mobile Phones
Why is it that manufacturers put eco labels on computer displays, TVs and printers but not on mobile phones? There is a huge demand among institutional purchasers and consumers who would like to see mobile phones with an eco label. Every week get several e-mails and phone calls from people around the world asking us at TCO Development why there are no TCO certified mobile phones, or which mobile phone can we recommend that has a minimal impact on the environment and that also has good usability.
An opportunity for mobile phones manufacurers to take the lead
If I was a marketing director at a mobile phone company and wanted to increase my market share I would definitely try to certify mobile phones according to an environmental certification program. Today this is an open window for the mobile manufacturer that truly would like to take the position as the brand to choose for green mobile phones.
Posted by Birgitta Halvarsson
