The 5E (Energy Efficient Electric and Electronic Office Equipment) in Universities project entailed a collaborative programme of research involving fourteen European Universities and the Austrian Energy Agency. It has facilitated the use of energy-efficiency in purchasing procedures for office equipment in European higher education institutions and has shown that:

• PCs and Monitors used for Third Level Education in Europe consume 3.4TWh of electrical power per annum;
• The performance of existing equipment is between medium and best technology in terms of energy efficiency;
• The use of existing equipment is between medium and worst practice in terms of energy efficiency.

Potential energy savings of over 75%

The recommendations of the 5E project aim to improve procurement practice through facilitating the use of specific energy consumption data. This enables total cost of ownership, including cost of energy, to be accurately evaluated during tender assessment. It is estimated that savings of approximately 40% in energy consumption will result from the proper implementation of these recommendations.

Guidelines for implementation of power management controls produced by the researchers show how to optimize the use of these increasingly important energy conservation devices. It is estimated that savings of up to 35% can be achieved through the optimum use of these controls, bringing the total potential saving to something in excess of 75%.

The results of the 5E project draw attention to the need for changes in existing energy-labeling systems and for developments in related industry standards. They also highlight the need for accurate information about usage patterns , improve to the precision of total cost of ownership calculations.