Selecting ENERGY STAR imaging equipment

Step 1: What product?

Presumably, when you read these pages, you know exactly what type of equipment you want. If not, please consider the following general directions:

• A multi-function device (MFD or 'all-in-one') will use 50% of the energy of a separate printer + scanner + fax machine + copier.
• The production of paper costs much more energy than it takes to print it. That's why double-sided printing/copying ('duplexing') will save a bundle.
  Saving paper energy

Step 2: What model?

Once you know the kind of product you want, the EU ENERGY STAR database will help you pick the most energy efficient model, meeting your specifications at the lowest energy consumption. The database presents the various energy and functional parameters and is updated continuously.
EU ENERGY STAR database: imaging equipment

Furthermore, for people interested in the technical background* of energy efficient equipment, this website contains a host of information on what to look for in advertisements and manufacturers' brochures.
> Technical library

Step 3: Check Power Management features!

Power Management (PM) is a major issue for ENERGY STAR requirements, because most imaging equipment is doing nothing most of the day. And PM tells your equipment how fast and deep it should go to sleep and how quickly it can wake up. So, once you have picked your model from the ENERGY STAR database, you know its PM features meet a certain standard. If you don't, you may end up like the 80-90% of customers who disable PM.

Therefore,

• Try to make sure that the power management of the selected equipment fits your temperament (recovery time) and the situation you are in.
• Try to make sure that the power management features are easy to set up and —if necessary— adjust. Ask your vendor and/or consult the technical documents of the equipment you're planning to buy.

* Technical papers available in English only