Green Product Management

Cases of Resource and Energy Saving Design

Acer has always been dedicated to designing products with energy saving features. In 1992, Acer introduced the AcerPAC personal computer equipped with multimedia functions and automatic energy saving in the shutdown mode. In 1993 the AcerPAC was awarded the ENERGY STAR label by the U.S. EPA . Today, Acer strives to abide with the energy-saving requirements in our product designs, and comply with ENERGY STAR. See list of ENERGY STAR qualified products: desktop PCs, notebook PCs, monitors.

In response to the new of ENERGY STAR Version 5.0 Computers Specification that took effect on July 1, 2009, Acer has already achieved 63.2% of notebook PCs and 40.6% of desktop PCs compliancy rate. For more information about ENERGY STAR standard and products status please refer to ENERGY STAR’s official website.

Acer introduces an energy solution that increases energy efficiency in products. The Aspire Timeline series notebooks are the first products that have benefited from this solution.

Energy Solution

Optimal System Efficiency
To increase the product energy efficiency, an energy-saving systematic design is used instead of increasing the battery capacity. This new design features Intel Display Power Savings Technology (DPST), which reduces the energy consumption of LED backlit displays with minimum visual impact. Additionally, Consumer Ultra Low Voltage (CULV) and power optimization technologies are used to further reduce energy consumption. Therefore, Acer notebooks featuring this new design saves 40% more energy system-wide than typical notebooks. Each notebook features a Acer PowerSmart key that extends battery life automatically increasing energy efficiency when activated.

Acer PowerSmart adapter
Acer provides enhanced technology that surpasses Energy Star (Version 2.0 ENERGY STAR EPS Eligibility Criteria) requirements. The efficiency of Acer PowerSmart adapter in no-load mode can reach 0.1 W, which is 67% better than the Energy Star requirement of 0.3 W. In addition, adapter charging mode will stop automatically when the battery is fully charged to save energy and reduce the heat hazard. Acer PowerSmart adapters are capable of saving 0.52 kWh each year which calculates to about 2,320 tons of carbon dioxide saved at a market volume of 7 million, or the equivalent of the carbon dioxide adsorption of 193,000 trees.
Base of calculation:

  1. No-load mode for the adapter is calculated at 10 hours a day, 5 days a week.
  2. Taiwan's power emission factor is 0.637 kgCO2e/kWh
  3. The carbon dioxide adsorption of a tree is 12 kgCO2/year according to UNEP 'Plant for the planet: The Billion tree campaign'

Benchmarking Aspire Timeline and Energy Star 5.0
In comparison, the typical energy consumption (TEC) of Aspire Timeline 4810T notebooks is about half the Category A requirement of Energy Star 5.0. Each unit can save up to 19kWh/year, totaling 84,700 tons of carbon dioxide at a market volume of 7 million, or the equivalent of the carbon dioxide adsorption of 7,060,000 trees.
Base of calculation:

  1. TEC (kWh) = (8760/1000) * (Poff * 0.6 + Psleep * 0.1 + Pidle *0.3)
    Px are power values in watts
  2. Taiwan's power emission factor is 0.637 kgCO2e/kWh
  3. The carbon dioxide adsorption of a tree is 12 kgCO2/year according to UNEP 'Plant for the planet: The Billion tree campaign'.


Energy Solution

 

In light of limited energy and resources available to mankind, and growing awareness for significant issues such as climate changes, Acer has also become a sponsoring member of the Climate Saver Computing Initiative (jointly founded by Google and Intel) in 2007. Acer has pledged to adopt CSCI’s objectives of producing and purchasing products of lower power consumption as an effort to contribute to the planet we live in. For a detailed introduction on CSCI, please visit http://www.climatesaverscomputing.org/

Moreover, Acer's product R&D department also developed an energy consumption management software called Acer ePower Management, allowing users to maximize energy efficiency based on the nature of work performed, and attain optimal usage of battery power.

For detailed content relating to Energy and Climate Change, please visit Acer Integrated Strategy on Energy and Climate Change

Response to EU ErP/EuP Directive

The EuP Directive (2005/32/EC) for “establishing a framework for the setting of eco design requirements for energy-using products” was replaced by the ErP Directive (2009/125/EC) for “establishing a framework for the setting of eco design requirements for energy-related products” on November 10, 2009.  The amendments were limited to the scope of application to include all energy-related products. Energy-related product means any good that has an impact on energy consumption during use which is placed on the market and/or put into service.

Eco design means the integration of environmental aspects into product design with the aim of improving environmental performance of the product throughout its whole life cycle. Staying abreast of world trends, Acer coordinated with the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) and ITRI to conduct a case study of Eco design compliant products in July 2005. The study selected one Acer‘s notebook, code name: “Morar”, to develop standard operating procedures of eco design requirements for Acer and reviewed the current environmental assessment system for improvement of eco design products. The documents serve as a reference while striving for greener production in the design of future models. Experience from this case study is also applied to all other production lines to facilitate further development of green products.

The ErP Directive is a framework for the setting of eco design requirements for energy-related products. Implementing measures means measures adopted pursuant to this Directive laying down eco design requirements for defined products or for environmental aspects. Those measures within concern of Acer are:

  1. “Ecodesign requirements for standby and off mode electric power consumption of electrical and electronic household and office equipment” (EC) No 1275/2008: effective since January 7, 2010.
  2. “Ecodesign requirements for no-load condition electric power consumption and average active efficiency of external power supplies” (EC) No 278/2009: effective April 27, 2010.
  3. “Ecodesign requirements for televisions” (EC) No 642/2009: effective August 20, 2010.

Before a product covered by implementing measures is placed on the market and/or put into service, a CE marking shall be affixed and an EC declaration of conformity issued whereby the manufacturer or its authorized representative ensures and declares that the product complies with all relevant provisions of the applicable implementing measure. Acer has applied the measures in product design procedures and has cooperated with suppliers to prepare declaration of conformity and the related documentation in order to make sure all products put on the market comply with ErP and its sequential measures. Currently, all Acer products comply with ErP. Acer will keep monitoring the forthcoming measures for ErP.

According to “Ecodesign requirements for televisions, (EC) No. 642/2009 - ANNEX I”, the following information should be provided by the manufacturer and can be found here

  • the power consumption data of on mode, standby and/or off mode
  • the ratio of default luminance to peak luminance
  • if the television contains mercury or lead

Cases of Resource and Energy Saving Design

  • Acer ultra Small Form Factor PC

Ever since the first PC came out 25 years ago, Acer has been introducing cutting-edge new products. Now the Acer research group has set a new golden standard with the development of its 3 liters desktop computer. In August 2006, Acer launched its brand new super-function ultra Small Form Factor (uSFF) PC to fulfill five top demands for compactness, high-efficiency, superior heat dissipation, silence, and energy efficiency.

Acer's uSFF PC is completely lead-free. All major components including CPU and hard drive are identical to the desktop computer, making its performance comparable to that of the traditional desktop computer. In addition, the uSFF PC has eight USB drives and has great potential for expansion. In addition to these high performance designs, the design of the uSFF PC has taken on many environmental and health design considerations.

  1. Resource-efficient
    Compared to the 30kg traditional PC, Acer's uSFF PC is lightweight at tenth the volume and weighing only 3kg. Compared to the traditional desktop computer, the uSFF PC saves on the use of raw materials fitting the dimensions of an A4 piece of paper and having a thickness of only 6cm. This miniature product also saves a great deal of packaging materials and greatly reduces energy consumption during shipping. A 40-ton freight container can hold 1,936 uSFF PC, allowing a shipping efficiency 3.3 times greater than traditional PCs.

  2. Energy efficiency
    The Acer uSFF PC uses an intelligent energy management system to ensure that the CPU automatically adjusts operations to match the actual workload and provide optimal efficiency per Watt, ensuring low temperatures, energy efficiency, and silent operation. Compared to the 250W maximum power consumption of the traditional desktop computer, the Acer uSFF PC's maximum power consumption is only 90~130W. This promotes efficient energy usage and offers a savings of 48%~64% in terms of energy consumption.

    All miniature personal computers need to overcome the problem of heat distribution. The Acer uSFF PC extracts heat through the top and takes in cooler air through the bottom making it the only computer with thermo siphoning technology, using convection principles to allow even heat release through perforations on both sides. Hot air is allowed to rise while cooler air is drawn in through the bottom of the computer, resulting in effective heat control to maintain system stability, reduced use of high volume extraction fans to dissipate heat, and reduced power consumption.

  3. Easy disassemble design
    Full consideration has been given to maintenance and convenient reuse and recycling of end-of-use products. The Acer SFF PC adopts an easy disassemble design requiring the twist of just two screws to access the interior for basic part change and maintenance.

  4. Unrivaled silence
    Acer's uSFF PC uses a unique silent fan that emits only 26 decibels during normal operations. This is a great improvement over the average PC, which has a noise emission of about 30~35 decibels. The result is a more comfortable and more peaceful working environment. (Note: above measurements are taken at 25° Celsius, humidity 68% while system is in standby mode)