Surfing for hours on the Internet consumes much electricity and hazards the environment, this reality led to the invention of an eco-friendly wooden-framed computer.
The computer “iameco” (pronounced “I — am — eco”) is not only the first of its kind but was also awarded for the “EU Ecolabel,” the European Union’s environmental label.
Manufactured by MicroPro Company in Ireland in collaboration with Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM in Berlin, Germany, these computers are free of harmful materials, such as heavy metals like lead, cadium and mercury that have been regularly used in computer manufacture for years.
The computers are up to one-third the size of standard computers and have been designed to last up to three times longer than traditional computers, with fully upgradeable Intel inside motherboards.
They are housed in carefully structured and beautifully finished cases, which come in different natural woods, including Ash, Maple, Beech and Ebony, the matching wood-finish is also done on keyboards, and mice.
Alexander Schlosser scientist at IZM said the touch-screen PC has very low energy consumption. It produces about 70 percent less CO2 than conventional computers its carbon footprint (greenhouse gas emissions) is less than 360 kilograms over the full product life cycle, which is 70 percent less than a normal desktop PC with monitor.
Ninety-eight percent of it can be recycled. With 20 percent of the computer recycle done immediately – this implies most parts and components, especially its wooden frame, can be reused to repaire other computers. They have made the computers environmentally friendly by installing heat-sinks instead of fans, which send the heat from the processor through copper tubes, called heat pipes this fan-less structure in turn saves energy.
Most computers use the conventional lighting, LEDs to illuminate the screen and improve its energy efficiency by 30 to 40 percent. The manufacturers reduced the hazardous materials by replacing them with halogenated flame-retardants with chemicals that disappear having caused less harm.
Its makers also stated that if the computer were to crash, the users would benefit from the improved disassembly and modular design of the device.
This makes it capable for easier repair and maintenance. Only the non-repairable components can be replaced. This option ensures a longer product life, and the easily conducted repairs ensure a high level of environmentally sensible engineering.
The two inventors intend to collaborate again and invent an environmentally friendly wooden framed notebook.
Micro pro is a wholly Irish eco-friendly computer-maker with its headquarters in Dublin, while Microintergration IZM, is a company that assists other companies with similar interests in assembling strong and reliable electronic systems and combines them to fit into the application environment.
