Will Energy Efficient PCs = Cash for Consumers?
It's possible consumers may see such rebates in the future. Right now, buy an energy efficient dishwasher, furnace, A/C unit, or something similar and you can often get a rebate from your utility company. Will utilities also give rebates for energy-efficient PCs? It's being discussed.
The Climate Savers Computing Initiative, a consortium of tech companies that is trying to get the industry and consumers to adopt energy-efficient components, has started to explore the idea of direct rebates with utilities, said Erik Teeszer, a program manager at Google during a meeting at the Intel Developer Forum taking place in San Francisco. Google and Intel are the driving forces behind Climate Savers.
Some component makers already qualify for rebates from utilities. The payments, though, go directly to these manufacturers. Consumers might enjoy lower retail prices as a result, but it's not the same as getting a check in the mail.
The Climate Savers Computing Initiative, a consortium of tech companies that is trying to get the industry and consumers to adopt energy-efficient components, has started to explore the idea of direct rebates with utilities, said Erik Teeszer, a program manager at Google during a meeting at the Intel Developer Forum taking place in San Francisco. Google and Intel are the driving forces behind Climate Savers.
Some component makers already qualify for rebates from utilities. The payments, though, go directly to these manufacturers. Consumers might enjoy lower retail prices as a result, but it's not the same as getting a check in the mail.
It would be an interesting concept, meaning consumers will start to look at the Energy Star rating of a PC before purchasing. The demands of power for server farms and the like have become so huge that reduction in PC power usage needs to be looked at - not just for global warming reasons, but also for Peak Oil reasons.
