Photocopiers: Leading the way for energy efficiency in the office

The WEEE directive has nothing to do with pushing your kid on a swing. WEEE stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. The WEEE directive became law in Europe on the 13th of February 2003 and was aimed at decreasing the problem of electrical and electronic equipment waste. This directive promotes the recycling and reuse of electronic and electrical equipment. Producers were made responsible for treating, recycling, or taking back the equipment.

With the introduction of environmentally friendly and energy efficient photocopiers an increase in energy saving and waste reduction has taken place in the workplace. Photocopiers play a big role in helping with the problem of global warming and are a significant part of the WEEE directive. Unlike before, these old photocopiers can no longer be laid to waste in the local landfill.

Photocopiers are the most commonly found piece of office equipment, and play a major role in increasing energy efficiency in the workplace. The consequent greenhouse gas emissions are only part of the concern, as a photocopier also must deal with the issue of paper usage along with energy consumption. Since the copier was using energy even when not in use, this was an issue that also needed to be addressed.

The new technology developed in copiers now being produced come with an “energy saving” mode which will power down the photocopier when not in use, and save over 60 percent on the energy it takes to run the machine. The new “on demand” fusing system is another energy saving feature and takes into account two important components of the photocopier. Rather than a halogen heater a ceramic heating element is used, and instead of a quick heating roller the new copiers will have a thin fixing film. This means lower heat requirements and better energy efficiency. These new copiers can also go from sleep mode to fully operational in under ten seconds, as opposed to this taking over a minute with the older photocopiers.

When put together with the growing availability of double sided copying and printing, the new photocopier technology will be one of the leaders in energy efficiency going forward. The world of office equipment will never be the same, and for once this is something positive.