• Tools, LED Displays, Efficient Power Supplies Contribute to Significant Energy Savings for Customers
  • LED displays expected to save customers around $20 million, 220 million kilowatt-hours in 2010 and 2011 combined
  • 25 Percent Reduction Marks Achievement of Ambitious Commitment Made Two Years Ago

Dell’s work to further reduce the energy use of its desktops and laptops has cut its customers’ related energy costs by 25 percent or more since 2008, making good on a commitment the company made to customers and the planet two years ago.

The 25-percent reduction builds on major efficiency leaps some Dell models saw in previous years. The energy efficiency of Dell’s OptiPlex desktops, for example, improved nearly 50 percent from 2005 to 2008, and Dell Latitude laptops improved 16 percent from 2006 to 2008.

Some Dell products significantly exceeded the 25 percent improvement in the past two years. Dell’s OptiPlex 980 small form factor and OptiPlex 780 ultra-small form factor systems, for example, both achieved 48 percent reductions in energy use when compared to their similarly configured predecessors, the OptiPlex 960 and OptiPlex 760.

The Road to More Energy-Efficient Systems

The company achieved its energy-efficiency goal by continuing to integrate Energy Smart technologies, including circuit designs, fans and power management features. The company also worked closely with its suppliers to further develop and deliver energy-efficient components, including processors, chip sets, power supplies and memory.

Dell has also completed its transition to LED displays across its laptop portfolio. In addition to being mercury-free, LED displays deliver significant energy savings compared to cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) technology. For example, Dell’s 15-inch LED displays consume an average of 43 percent less power at maximum brightness, resulting in extraordinary cost and carbon savings.

Dell estimates LED displays will save customers approximately $20 million and 220 million kilowatt-hours in 2010 and 2011 combined, the equivalent of annual CO2 emissions resulting from energy use of more than 10,000 homes¹.

“Organizations are recognizing the role IT can play in improving their productivity and reducing their environmental impacts,” said Mark Newton, director of Sustainable Business at Dell. “We’ve listened to them and are designing systems and solutions that dramatically reduce energy consumption, drive productivity and cost savings and help achieve a low-carbon economy.”

Translating Energy Efficiency into Cost Savings

Based on worldwide unit sales beginning in 2005 with power-management features enabled, Dell estimates that OptiPlex desktop systems alone have helped customers save more than $5.2 billion and avoid approximately 50 million tons of CO2². Follow the cost and carbon savings in real-time at www.dell.com/earth.

The company currently enables desktop customers to lower energy costs by offering more 80 PLUS Gold-certified power supplies than any other tier-1 manufacturer. The 80 PLUS Gold specification exceeds the power-supply requirements in the EPA’s Energy Star 5.0 standard for computers and requires the use of 80 percent or more efficient power supplies.

Dell customers can also access free, easy-to-use tools and resources to plan and manage their power consumption. Dell’s OpenManage systems management portfolio helps organizations reduce power consumption by providing functionality to more effectively set and maintain Energy Smart configurations across client PCs. The company also provides online calculators at www.dell.com/energy to measure and assess potential impact to their power bills. Laptop, desktop and server customers are able to compare configurations side by side to determine annual cost savings and CO2 emissions avoided through the use of energy smart systems.

About Dell

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers worldwide innovative technology and business solutions they trust and value. Dell Services develops and delivers a comprehensive suite of services and solutions in applications, business process, consulting, infrastructure and support to help customers succeed.

¹Based on Dell internal analysis using U.S. EPA carbon conversion calculators.

²Energy savings calculations are based on unit volumes derived from worldwide IDC figures for OptiPlex™ systems beginning in Q1-2005 through the previous quarter. Customer savings calculations are based on 2006 US average unit cost of energy $0.083/kWh. CO2 emissions avoidance assumes CO2 conversion factor of 0.0008 tons CO2/kWh. All figures assume that the OptiPlex power management features are not disabled by user and have an Annual Usage Profile of one hour maximum performance, seven hours office productivity, one hour idle and 15 hours sleep state for 264 days a year, 24 hrs sleep state for 101 days. Energy savings are determined by comparing the energy use with and without power management. The average system savings is calculated by using an average of the energy savings of OptiPlex models shipping through the previous quarter.

Article source: http://content.dell.com/us/en/corp/d/press-releases/2010-12-14-energy-costs.aspx?ref=rss