The environmental impact of PCs left running idle in the UK Computers and monitors can account for half of the electricity used in a typical office. A single monitor left switched on overnight can use the same energy as a laser printer producing 800 A4 printed copies, - and don't be fooled by a screensaver -? the computer is still working at full power to run this!

There are some 10m office PCs in Britain and approximately 20m home PCs, of this 1.8m are regularly left on overnight or all weekend, according to a recent study on energy wastage. Based on this study, around 1.5 billion kWh of energy is wasted by computers and monitors being left on - that's approximately - ?115million wasted in the UK every year! Convert this into carbon and we waste around 700,000 tonnes of carbon due to workers not switching off computers and monitors in the UK.

All this office computer waste can be easily avoided by adopting simple energy saving policies which are supported by energy saving devices like ecobutton

Based on the study figures, nationally, with one small click, 700,000 tonnes of office PC wasted carbon could be avoided.

The Government is urging everybody to take steps to become carbon neutral The ecobutton proactively encourages eco awareness and a satisfaction that collectively,every small click actually adds up to make a BIG difference. This is emphasized by the provision of an on-screen meter that shows exactly what has been saved in both power cost and taking responsibility to reduce your carbon footprint and to cut electricity bills by making more efficient use of resources.

With an estimated growth of computer usage of around 40% by 2020, isn't it about time we all took some action to deal with this growing problem.

Whether you save a lot or a little, you can be assured that by using ecobutton you will be making a difference.

How does the ecobutton work?

The ecobutton acts as a strong visual reminder and prompt for you to save electricity each time your computer is going to be left idle. The ecobutton is illuminated and sits on your table/desk top next to your keyboard. It connects to your computer via a USB cable. Each time you take a short or long break, a phone call, go for a meeting etc. you simply press the ecobutton and your computer is put into energy saving 'ecomode' which ensures that both your computer and monitor draw only the same nominal? power as when they are shut down!

Under normal circumstances people generally do not like turning off their computers due to the time it often takes to restart. However, with ecobutton by simply pressing any key on your keyboard your computer instantly returns to where you left off.

There's also an additional bonus, each time your computer is put into 'ecomode' the clever ecobutton software records how many carbon units and how much power and money you have saved by using the ecobutton. Over time this can add up to quite a lot (especially if you have many computers running in an office) and you can use this data to help reduce your carbon footprint as well as your energy bills.

The Saving

A small to medium sized business running 50 computers could save around 6.80Tonnes of CO2 and over - ?2000 per year of electricity by using the ecobutton for just 2 hours per day. 2 hours might seem a lot but the time your computer is left idle soon adds up. For a start your lunch break is going to be about 1 hour, now include a few phone calls, say 30 minutes per day, a couple of trips to the loo, another 15 minutes, and that meeting you've been hoping to avoid and soon enough your computer has been left running alone for at least 2hrs. A domestic user running a single computer can make an equally - 50.00 in electricity per year by using the ecobutton regularly. valuable contribution to the environment by saving 135kg of CO2 per year and approximately

Indirect savings can be made with air conditioning systems as they do not have to work so hard as less heat is generated from computers that are actively using the ecobutton.Because the ecobutton stays illuminated even during ecomode, this can provide a useful reminder that all unnecessary computers, lighting, heating and air conditioning etc...should be be switched off at the end of the day.