By Kim Tong-hyung
Green tech advocates have been urging electronics makers to try harder to lower the power consumption of household appliances when they aren’t turned on.
Now, Moneual, a mid-sized maker of computing devices and equipment, claims to be providing a breakout product in terms of standby power reduction, introducing a personal computer equipped with a control module that automatically switches-off its output devices when the user leaves his seat for long periods of time.
The Sonamu G100 has a ``green mode’’ button atop its tower case and pressing it would be equivalent to unplugging the monitors, speakers, printers and modems, Moneual officials said. The computer will be sold for between 690,000 won and 1.19 million won based on specifications, and will also be available in the United States.
``Users can either press the green mode button or turn the personal computer off, and the computer will then automatically switch-off the output devices. The computer also switches off the output devices when it enters its standby mode. The idea is to keep the standby power in the output devices at zero watts,’’ said Harold Park, the chief executive of Moneual.
``Users can control the output devices that are controlled by the computer, as wireless modems, which are used for telecommunications purposes such as connecting smartphones, and are expected to be turned on most of the times. Office users can also adjust the controls, so it’s not like shared printers will be shut down when someone decides not to return to his seat,’’ said Heo Jong-seung, Moneual’s marketing manager.