Dell promises PC power cut

PCs and laptops to use 25 per cent less power by 2010

Dell has announced it will cut the power consumption of its desktop and laptop systems by 25 per cent by 2010, a move that will lower carbon dioxide emissions and save customers money on energy bills, the firm said.

Dr Albert Esser, Dell vice president of power and infrastructure solutions, said the firm is committed to becoming the greenest technology company globally, and is on track to be carbon-neutral by the end of this year.

"We've figured out how to be green, and we want to pass this on to customers, " he added.

While Dell said its current OptiPlex desktops have already improved in energy efficiency by 50 per cent and its Latitude laptops by 16 per cent over the last few years, it now intends to make further cuts in consumption.

This goal is to be achieved through improvements to Dell's EnergySmart technology, which includes pre-configured power settings and management tools; but also through working closely with suppliers to develop more energy-efficient components such as power supplies, Esser said.

"No PC works at 100 percent load, so we asked our suppliers for peak efficiency at 50 percent load instead," he explained.

Dell's desktops already ship with 80 percent efficient power supplies that comply with the US EPA’s Energy Star 4.0 standard. Such moves have so far saved customers a total of $2.4 billion (£1.2 billion) on energy costs, according to Dell.