Energy star
An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program established by the Environmental Protection Agency and 50 other companies in 1993 to encourage PCs and peripherals that use less energy. For a computer, printer, monitor, or other electrical device to carry an Energy Star label, it must meet the below requirements.
- The device must be able to sense when it has been left inactive for a specific amount of time.
- Once the device has decided it has been left inactive it must be able to power down to a mode that consumes no more than 30 watts of energy. Monitors in this state, for example, will go blank.
- No data is lost when computer components enter a low-power mode, but it may take a few seconds for the computer to "wake up" once again. Usually moving the mouse or pressing a key on the keyboard would get the computer out of this mode.
Also see: Power Definitions, Sleep