Our computers are designed to last about three times longer than average – up to 10 years.  They are designed for lifetime extension (DfLE) and designed for disassebly (DfD).

Working with academic partners, iameco carried out a formal streamlined life cycle assessment (SLCA).  The assessment was based on primary energy consumption through each phase of raw material input, production, distribution, use phase and end of life.

A life cycle primary energy consumption was calculated at approximately 7800 MJ, assuming a 6 year product life.  The use phase was identified as the most significant of all the lifecycle phases for primary energy consumption, accounting for 3 times the energy used during raw material extraction and production.

In addition to the primary energy consumption evaluation, a carbon emission assessment footprint (global warming potential in C02 equivalent)  was carried out, based on the EuP methodology.This assessment included the display unit (as the EuP Report provides an explicit background dataset for LCD panels). The total carbon footprint of iameco II prototype was calculated at 358 kg CO2-eq., which is a particularly low result for computers. The use phase was again confirmed as the most dominant burden in terms of this impact category. In terms of raw material extraction and production the display (27.7kg CO2-eq.) is responsible for more than 50% of the greenhouse gas emissions. The second and third important components were the motherboard and the metal housing parts respectively.

iameco then commissioned  Design for Disassembly and Design for Lifetime Extension assessment, carried out by the University of Limerick in collaboration with Reuse Computer Tricom GmbH (Berlin, Germany).

Successful DFD requires three critical disciplines: (1) the selection and use of materials (2) the design of components and the product architecture and (3) the selection and use of joints, connectors and fasteners.The design of the Iameco II was evaluated from four different design aspects: (1) Component accessibility (2) Replace- and extensionability, (3) Demount-ability and (4) Impression of stability of value.

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Talk to iameco today. Contact us at sales@iameco.com or call us at +353 1 4930514 (Dublin).