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The green classroom

We look at options to help cut energy costs by installing more eco-friendly ICT equipment in the classroom

Cutting carbon emissions as part of the fight against climate change should be a key priority for schools. It's good for the environment and the money saved on energy consumption can then be put to use in other areas. What's more, research suggests that taking a greener approach to running a school could result in big cost savings – an estimated 80 percent of public and private sector sites are paying for more electricity than they actually need.

Printers

Printing is one area that schools can look at to improve their green credentials and cut costs. Not only is there the cost of the paper to take into account, but you also have to factor in the price of replacement consumables.

Start by making sure you've got the right printer for the job. If you generally want to print high-volume, black and white materials, then a mono laser printer will probably be the most cost-effective option as replacement toner cartridges last longer than ink cartridges. Conversely, if you use the printer sparingly and only print in colour, then a colour inkjet may be better value for money in the long term.

Modern printers can also help reduce paper usage. Look for models that will support duplex printing and set up your documents so they print two pages per sheet by default. Draft mode is also a valuable feature to look out for, as it can substantially reduce your toner or ink costs – also ensure students preview their pages before printing, so paper isn't wasted.

Slash electricity bills

Ensure your hardware has built-in power-saving options, which means that machines which are not used for a certain period will automatically power down. You should also train staff and pupils to turn equipment off at the end of the day rather than rely on standby mode (typically a monitor in standby mode would still consume 90 percent of the power it would use if the monitor was turned on).

You should also consider installing timer switches on printers and photocopiers so they are automatically turned off at weekends, evenings and during the holidays.

PCs

There are various eco-friendly computers now on offer. For example, a new range of carbon neutral PCs will be available soon, which use much less power and are largely made from recycled materials.

You should also investigate the energy savings you could make by moving to a thin-client set up. Thin clients typically have much fewer moving parts (because the processing of information is carried out by the server) and so consume much less electricity than a conventional computer.

What's more, thin clients produce less heat and noise than standard PCs, making for a more pleasant learning environment. Becta's report on the pros and cons for installing thin clients also found that total cost of ownership (TCO) per personal computer dropped by nearly 40 percent in secondary schools using the technology.

At the very least you should look for the energy star label when buying new PCs and monitors – this indicates whether the products have a low-power mode.

Where to go next

Eco Schools

Details on how you can reduce the environmental impact of running a school

www.eco-schools.org.uk

Carbon Trust

Advice on how schools can cut energy usage

www.carbontrust.co.uk/energy

Becta

Read the Managing ICT costs in schools document from Becta, which looks at ways to calculate total cost of ownership for ICT products

www.becta.org.uk

Becta research

Research on the benefits of implementing thin-client technology in schools

www.becta.org.uk/research/reports/thinclient

 

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This article originally appeared in the October 2007 edition of Active ICT.