May 14, 2008 6:33 AM PDT

Dell to cut PC energy use by 25 percent

Bragging rights in the PC industry have shifted from being cheap on price to efficient with energy.

Dell on Wednesday announced energy efficiency targets for its laptops and desktop PCs: a 25 percent reduction by 2010 based on the efficiency rating of today's models.

In about a month, it will set out an efficiency target for its server line as well, according to Albert Esser, vice president of power and infrastructure solutions at Dell.

Dell showed off an ultrasmall energy-efficient PC last month, which will be aimed at consumers.

(Credit: Dell)

For a sign of what more energy-efficient PCs from Dell may look like, Esser pointed to the ultrasmall PC which CEO Michael Dell showed off in April at the "Fortune Brainstorm: Green" conference in Los Angeles. That machine takes up 80 percent less space and consumes 70 percent less than one of Dell's minitower PCs.

With high energy costs and more concerns over the environmental impact of computing, many computer vendors are pushing energy efficiency in their product development and marketing.

Esser said Dell's efficiency program is driven by customer demand for less expensive equipment and Dell's own environmental stewardship program. Dell intends to be carbon-neutral from its operations by the end of this year.

To reach its 25 percent reduction goal, Dell will continue to improve on existing development in hardware and firmware, including power management, efficient fans, and better power supplies.

Recent posts from Green Tech
Who will make CIGS work for the solar sector?
Maker of Solio gadget chargers secures $5 million
T. Boone Pickens: A man with an energy plan
Two megawatts of batteries connected to power grid
Sharp's solar-powered LCD TV
Add a Comment (Log in or register) 4 comments (Page 1 of 1)
by Mercury23 May 14, 2008 8:19 AM PDT
I will never buy anything from Dell ever again. I had 2 LCD monitors go bad in the same week with the same problem, followed by 3 power supplies within a month of each other. One of the engineers was bored and decided to tinker around with the LCDs. Both had the same problem with the same bad capacitors. Power supplies we just junked and went with a much more power efficient PSU than the piece of junk ones that Dell installed.

It's hard to imagine Dell doing anything worth while with as much cheap junk that they use and as many corners as they cut. Net profit at the expense of quality is not a good way to do business.
Reply to this comment
by BigDawgDoug May 14, 2008 10:44 AM PDT
While Dell's reputation on service is really bad I think this is really cool that they have stepped up the plate on energy conservation efforts. Now if we could get the damn automakers to do the same. While I'm not a particular fan of Dell's products I do applaude them in their conservation efforts. Maybe their other BIG computer companies will follow suite. HELLO HP are you listening......Now maybe if Michael Dell came out of his comfy retirement lifestyle and took the bull by the horns maybe he might be able to save the reputation of the VERY COMPANY HE FOUNDED. On a personal note if I founded a company and then retired I would be really, really pissed if someone else ran it into the ground.
Reply to this comment
by thedreaming May 14, 2008 12:17 PM PDT
Dell seems interested in saving power but is it money they are really interested in saving?
Reply to this comment View reply
Powered by Jive Software
advertisement
  • About Green Tech

  • Innovation in energy and environmental technologies is long overdue. But it's here now--and growing fast. Touching on everything from water to wind turbines, CNET News.com's Martin LaMonica and other CNET writers serve up fresh green tech news and commentary.

Add this feed to your online news reader
Google
Yahoo
MSN

Most popular stories

  1. Photos: Top 10 newly discovered species

  2. T-Mobile rumored to be readying Android phone for 3G launch

  3. 3G iPhone up for grabs online--or is it?

  4. Formula One design vet creating eco-smart city car

  5. Geeks get a word in with Merriam-Webster

Latest tech news headlines

Featured blogs

Beyond Binary by Ina Fried

Coop's Corner by Charles Cooper

Defense in Depth by Robert Vamosi

Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman

One More Thing by Tom Krazit

Outside the Lines by Dan Farber

The Iconoclast by Declan McCullagh

The Social by Caroline McCarthy

Underexposed by Stephen Shankland

advertisement
On GameSpot: Wii Fit tells 10-year-old she's fat
Advanced
search
Advanced
search
Visit other CBS Interactive sites