Monitor Power Consumption

[markdob2000]

Hello,
I am currently looking at the potential cost savings of switching monitors to a low power model. I am looking at over 3000 monitors as each user has two each so the savings could be quite high. We currently use standard 19" dell LCD. Can anyone reccomened a good low power consumption monitor?

 

[bucknutty]

The average 22-24 LCD is going to use 35 watts while on and .5 watts in standby. Unfortunately LED back lights do not provide a substantial power savings in most monitors because most manufactures are using very similar control cards and power boards in both the LED and the florescent back light models. Your older monitors may use a good bit more power but I think you will see you will be around 30-40 watts.

If you could knock off 5 watts and get 30 watt monitors that would save 9000 watts per hour. In the north east here the average cost of residential power is $.20 per kilowatt hour. So that would save you about $1.80 per hour. If your work load is 10 hours a day that’s $18 a day. 255 work days per year you could see a saving of $4,590 per year. Now figure you buy 3000 monitors at $150 each thats $450,000. The power saving makes up 1% of your total cost, you will recoup your costs in only about 100 years.

I don’t mean to be pessimistic about saving power or going green but it really is all a crock, it’s a marketing scam to get people to buy new stuff when their existing stuff is still good.

If the monitors are in need of replacement any way then look for a low power solution but replacing perfectly good equipment to try to show a power savings is not responsible. If you’re a big office you have to factor the cost of disposing the old monitors and from a green point of view every time you dispose of something that still works you are wasting the energy that goes into the production of the item and the energy it takes to recycle or land fill it. Think of the fuel alone to move those 3000 monitors, or the amount of petroleum products expended to make those monitors.

 

[bucknutty]

Sorry about the rant... I have found the cheap acer 20s to have the best electrical usage at around 30 watts. This is tested at the plug with a Kill-a-Watt. Thats inline with whats printed in their spec.