StORES Magazine - September 2007 - (Page 120) CONSIDER THIS / POINT OF VIEW Creating an eco-friendly retail space BY JOHN SNAIDER As part of their commitment to environmental responsibility, many retailers are creating eco-friendly stores. I applaud those retailers who are taking a leadership role in redesigning their stores, developing eco-friendly practices and working with their suppliers to provide environmentally-friendly products. However, retailers often overlook how they can benefit from updating their in-store and back-office infrastructure with the latest energy-efficient technologies. When developing plans to upgrade or replace POS systems, manager’s workstations and desktops, retailers should follow the energy-efficiency path. Embracing these five steps can help transform the energy footprint of your stores. Choose a system configuration with an 80 percent efficient power supply. These power supplies reduce energy John Snaider is vice pres- consumption, provide peak reduction and provide improved ident, Americas Personal Systems Group, Business power quality. When a power supply converts AC power from PCs, for HP. the wall to the specific DC voltage a computer requires, there is always some loss of power; the power loss can vary, depending on how busy the computer is. An 80 percent efficient power supply is guaranteed to lose less than 20 percent of the AC power at loads up to 80 percent. Currently, power supplies for desktop computers range from about 65 to 75 percent efficiency. Other benefits of the new 80 percent power supplies include: decreased system maintenance due to improved reliability; reduced maintenance and longer equipment life; improved worker environment due to use of quieter fans; less generated heat. Choose a system that has power management technology — and enable the technology on existing systems. EIST (Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology) and AMD Cool’n’Quiet reduce power consumption when software activity does not require the full capabilities of the processor. Diminished power consumption means retailers’ operating costs and heat production are reduced. Replace CRT monitors with LCD technology. LCD technology provides 70 percent power savings and provides up to twice the lifespan of CRT monitors. Replacing CRT technology with LCD can provide substantial power savings. For example, an office with 100 CRT monitors re120 STORES / SEPTEMBER 2007 quires an approximate energy consumption of 9,000 watts per hour (w/hr), vs. only 1,700 w/hr when equipped with comparable 15-inch LCD monitors. Choose a system with a BIOS that offers a wide range of configurable management options. You probably don’t think much about BIOS settings, but a BIOS with a range of configurable power management options is desirable. The HP BIOS provides five system states that can be configured to provide increased levels of power efficiency. One such setting, the S3 Standby state, provides almost instantaneous recovery time with very low power consumption. Choose a system processor that provides the maximum level of power efficiency. Both AMD and Intel offer processor configurations that provide power savings. Among Intel-based systems, the Core 2 Duo 65w processor configuration will yield the greatest energy efficiency. Retailers should also consider systems that are EPEATrated and ENERGY STAR qualified. EPEAT (“Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool”) is a procurement tool to help retailers evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on eco-friendly attributes, such as reducing environmental and health impacts. Products that are ENERGY STAR qualified use less energy and prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting strict guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. HP designed its latest POS system, the rp5700, to be more powerful while simultaneously increasing energy efficiency and reducing environmental impact through a fiveyear product life cycle, energy- and acoustic-efficient processors and a standard 80 percent rated power supply. In fact, the rp5700 is the only POS system in the industry that has a rating of EPEAT-Gold. When it comes to creating eco-friendly spaces, consider the store from the inside out. Paying attention to the system configurations of your IT equipment really pays off, both for the environment and for your bottom line. For additional information, visit www.hp.com/go/energyefficient or www.hp.com/go/POS. WWW.STORES.ORG http://www.hp.com/go/energyefficient http://www.hp.com/go/POS http://WWW.STORES.ORG
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