Consumer products and EPEAT
Most of the products registered in EPEAT are products intended for business use
for two main reasons:
1. Some consumer-oriented products may not meet EPEAT standards
Computers
and monitors that are designed for consumers tend to have more
entertainment and media features than the typical office PC or laptop,
including:
-
High-end video and sound;
-
Faster processors;
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More RAM (to enable better pictures and video);
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Larger and more hard disk drives;
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More connectivity (USB, firewire, etc.);
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Larger displays;
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Different operating systems.
Because of these features, home
computers often consume more energy than business computers, and may
contain components that do not meet EPEAT criteria on hazardous
materials or recycled content.
2. Consumers have not historically shown an interest in greener electronics.
Consumers are historically
very sensitive to price, performance, and flashiness, and have not
expressed any clear preference for environmentally friendly electronics,
so manufacturers have generally designed accordingly. For example,
a high-efficiency power supply can reduce the life-cycle cost and environmental
impacts of a computer but adds a few dollars to the up front retail price, so a
high-efficiency power supply has rarely been part of the configuration of
consumer oriented PCs.
Lastly,
some computer manufacturers have very distinct consumer vs. business product
lines and models. Because of EPEAT’s focus on
institutional purchasers, manufacturers with distinct product lines have generally EPEAT
registered their business line products and not their consumer line. As a result,
consumers may find fewer of these manufacturer’s EPEAT-registered
products in consumer retail settings.
EPEAT Retail Outlets
EPEAT is working to improve consumer access to EPEAT-qualified products through
retail outlets. At this time, Buy.com and
TechDepot are the only
general retailers providing a purchasing portal for EPEAT products and
identifying products as EPEAT Bronze, Silver and Gold. If you are looking for a
greener laptop, desktop, or monitor we recommend that you visit:
The power of consumer demand
Consumers may find that the home computers that they want
are not EPEAT registered, and that EPEAT registered products are hard to find in
retail settings apart from the pioneering retail outlets listed above. In the short
run, dedicated green consumers may decide to purchase EPEAT-registered
business-line products to ensure they are getting the greenest options
available.
But consumer demand can also
create market incentives for environmentally preferable products, and EPEAT provides
a means to channel and focus that demand.
If consumer interest in EPEAT registered products
is clear, manufacturers will increasingly respond by redesigning at least some
consumer products to meet the EPEAT standard - a process that has
already begun.
Therefore, interested consumers
should ask sales people at retail outlets or online retailers to provide information
on products' EPEAT ratings and be prepared to steer the sales people to www.epeat.net for
more information. Happy shopping!
NOTE: Before buying an EPEAT registered computer as an individual consumer, you
should be aware of several important factors:
1.
Not all the EPEAT criteria currently apply to
products bought by individual consumers. For instance, the requirements to offer product,
packaging and battery take-back services apply only to institutional
purchasers. However, many manufacturers already offer these services
to consumers (it just isn’t an EPEAT requirement), so check with the
individual manufacturer.
2.
Your selection of options and components may be
limited: as mentioned above, business equipment registered to EPEAT
may have fewer bells and whistles than a consumer model.
Only the registered product is required to meet all the applicable criteria.
If you change the configuration from the registered model - for example adding
a souped up processor - your product may no longer meet
all those criteria, particularly with regard to energy efficiency.
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