Back in 2007 I was writing about the energy impact of office IT equipment. At the time, PCs, printers, fax machines and photocopiers were described as the fastest growing users of energy in the business world, accounting for around 15% of office electricity use and expected to double by 2020.
The message was straightforward. Switch equipment off when not in use, enable standby features, maintain devices properly, and buy efficient models. The numbers made a strong case:
- A standard PC cost around £60 per year to run compared with £9 for an energy-saving version
- Over a four-year lifespan that added up to more than £200 in savings per device
- Nationally, around 60% of energy used by office equipment was wasted, equating to £180m per year in the UK alone
It was never just about money. Unnecessary energy use increased heat, noise and air quality issues in workplaces, while contributing to carbon emissions on a wider scale. The logic was clear: efficiency paid off for companies, staff and the planet.
Looking back, it is striking how many of those principles still apply. The context has shifted from office PCs to hyperscale cloud data centres, from fax machines to AI inference clusters, but the fundamentals remain:
- Idle resources cost money and carbon. In 2007 it was idle photocopiers, today it is underutilised cloud instances
- Small actions add up. Then it was staff switching off monitors, now it is developers choosing efficient regions, instance types and architectures
- Engagement matters. Culture change was and is the real challenge. Posters in offices, dashboards in cloud consoles, same principle in a new medium
The figures are bigger now, but the opportunity is the same. Up to 70% savings are available, often at little or no extra cost, simply by managing IT facilities and services more effectively.
In my current dissertation work I am exploring sustainability in cloud operations, particularly carbon-aware workload placement and the role of AI in optimisation. Reading that 2007 piece again, I can see the through-line. The kit looks different, but the mindset has not changed. Efficiency is good economics, good engineering and good stewardship.
Lesson from 2007, still true in 2025: The greenest kilowatt-hour is the one you do not use.
The original document contents:
Reduce electricity used by I.T. equipment
The rise in I.T. equipment usage is responsible for increasing electricity consumption in many buildings, in most sectors. Energy used by computers can be reduced by ensuring that equipment is switched off when not required . Many machines such as PCs, monitors and photocopiers have facilities which allow them to revert to standby mode after they have not been used for a pre-set period of time, thereby saving electricity automatically. With standby mode initiated on a PC, running costs will be reduced to £15 a year from around £60 a year. Similarly, activating standby modes on fax machines after 15 minutes of idling will reduce energy consumption by up to 90% over the course of a year.
Office equipment and small power machines (PCs, monitors, fax machines, photocopiers, printers, vending machines and water coolers) are the fastest growing users of energy in the business world, accounting for 15% of all electrical energy used in UK offices. This is expected to double by 2020.
Using such equipment doesn’t just raise energy consumption; it can make work areas uncomfortably hot, increasing the need for cooling, which increases costs further.
The growth of office equipment is not simply confined to offices; most organisations will be noticing an increase in the volume of office equipment installed. Managing these facilities effectively can reduce their energy consumption (and therefore cost) by up to 70%, often at little or no extra cost.
Electricity consumed due to office equipment in the UK already costs £300 million each year and is rapidly increasing.
Using office equipment only when required and providing adequate control is the best way to save money and reduce energy consumption.
Office equipment energy use comprises large numbers of relatively small power loads. This means that in order to achieve maximum energy savings, everyone will need to be engaged in the process.
Consider positioning printers and copiers in either a naturally ventilated area with good airflow, or in a cool area to reduce air conditioning costs. Keeping equipment clean and maintained reduces energy costs and extends the working life of equipment. Finally, when buying equipment, choose low energy versions. They don’t compromise the quality of a product, and keep saving throughout the equipment’s lifetime.
It is estimated that 60% of the energy used by office equipment in the UK could be wasted due to equipment being left on unnecessarily and standby facilities being absent or disabled.
This amounts to a staggering £180 million across the UK every year.
The majority of this energy use comes from large numbers of small pieces of equipment. Realising the savings available requires the active participation and cooperation of all staff using this equipment.
Find out how much energy is used overnight to understand scale of the problem. Raise the issue in different ways, as people will be motivated by different information. For instance, turning off unnecessary equipment and enabling standby features will:
- Save the company money – likely to be attractive to management
- Reduce any over heating problems – likely to be attractive to staff
- Reduce carbon dioxide emissions and help combat climate change – attractive to staff and good for company reputation.
Getting information out to everyone should be a regular activity. This should include:
- current energy use and related environmental issues
- energy saving targets and the benefits to staff of achieving these
- planned activities for meeting these targets
Keep the initiative going through the use of posters, newsletters and staff suggestions schemes.
There are big variations in energy consumption of equipment that essentially provides the same service. Look out for equipment with a recognised energy label; the main label for office equipment is ‘Energy Star’.
An average new PC will use around 90W, but the most efficient machines use around two thirds of this. Efficient machines can cost the same as their inefficient counterparts but have lower running costs and produce less heat.
Other areas that are important to consider when buying office equipment include:
- Where cost-effective, choose equipment that can be upgraded. This extends the life of the equipment, making it environmentally preferable.
- Check the level of other emissions from office equipment, including
- Ozone – laser printers and copiers give off ozone; high concentrations can act as an irritant and can cause breathing disorders.
- Noise – excessive noise from appliances can create an unpleasant working environment, leading to lower productivity.
- Heat – can make the office too warm increasing the need for cooling which can in turn increase energy costs.
- Dust – can act as an irritant and cause breathing disorders.
Well-maintained office equipment will be more efficient and will last longer. Keep a maintenance schedule to keep track of what maintenance is needed and the outcomes of any previous maintenance.
Keep equipment free from obstructions and clean filters and fans regularly to prevent overheating and possible failure.
Savings
Cost of running a normal computer is around £60 per year compared to an energy saving computer of £9 per year saving £51 per year per computer. Over 4 year life span this saving is £204 per computer.
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