FAQ

  • 1. Why are hazardous substances including lead (Pb), mercury (Hg) and cadmium (Cd) being phased out of electronics?

    U.S. and Global agencies such as EPEAT, RoHS, Energy Star and the EPA have set strict standards to restrict the levels of intentionally added lead, mercury, and cadmium in electronics and batteries in hopes of dramatically lowering toxicity levels created by discarded electronics and batteries. Another means of combating the issue of "high tech trash" is by creating electronics designed for long life spans via ease of upgrades and maintenance such as AOpen's modular XC Minis and Digital Engines – all of which are RoHs and Energy Star 4.0 ready.
  • 2. How do AOpen's cleantech products achieve long life spans?

    AOpen's open architecture uSFF modules express design emphases on high compatibility and adaptability for ease of adding memory, upgrading CPUs, replacing parts and cost-efficient maintenance. Additionally, the ease of portability (AOpen's modules can fit in one's hand) allow for further green tech benefits in that the space-saving modules can be put anywhere thereby avoiding excessive "high-tech trash" such as extra cables and oversized platforms.
  • 3. How does AOpen oversee its environmental management systems for the manufacturing of cleantech products?

    AOpen audits vendors occasionally and audits its IQC and OQC processes to maintain green tech practices achieving ISO 19011 compliancy (ISO 9001 and ISO 14001).
  • 4. How can AOpen help my company manage the waste hierarchy by implementing the three R(s) of a Cradle-to-Cradle production framework?

    • REDUCE: Miniaturize traditional IT solutions into space-saving AOpen XC Minis and Digital Engines. AOpen's uSFF modules can do the same job as traditional computers but at a fraction of the energy consumption, heat production and size. Handheld XC Minis and Digital Engines can handle Duo Core CPU horsepower along with 720p/1080p Blu-ray Multimedia.
  • • REUSE: Efficiently recover tech products per legal and agency-compliant standards with support from AOpen.
  • • RECYCLE: AOpen's uSFF modules have been designed for ease of disassembly for recycling. Get help from AOpen's support team for means of recycling XC Minis and Digital Engines.
  • 5. How much can I save by switching from traditional IT solutions to AOpen's cleantech uSFF modules?

    Traditional desktop computers run at around 400W compared to AOpen's Energy Star 4.0 ready uSFF modules at a mere 90W! "Green tech" becomes "cleantech" when ROI becomes evident and budget meetings begin to extract "green metrics" (such as energy consumption costs) out of their data centers and workstations. Indeed, as investment buys, AOpen modules can help make steep cuts in energy consumption budgets in addition to the money saved thanks to the modules' cost-efficient maintenance and long life spans.
  • 6. How can AOpen's Smart CPU Coolers help me cut energy costs?

    Lowering air-conditioning and other cooling costs can help make substantial cuts in energy consumption budgets. Many businesses as well as the U.S. public sector are concerned now with condensing data centers, a practice that will lead to lower cooling costs not to mention more cost-efficient maintenance. AOpen Labs has committed large resources to helping AOpen's partners customize their platforms for data center condensing projects and/or towards fulfilling projects for switching traditional workstation IT solutions with AOpen's cleantech IT – 90W, low-heat and noiseless space-saving modules.
  • 7. Can AOpen, as a strategic facilitator of integrated solutions, help me connect all the dots for cost-saving and energy-efficient IT solutions?

    Yes. AOpen possesses a U.S. and global staff well-equipped to help you build or strengthen your vertical marketing systems for cleantech with a variety of options ranging from gaining access to a sophisticated ecosystem of cleantech solution providers to providing co-op marketing and advertising opportunities. Also, AOpen's Green Tech Labs are glad to open their doors to AOpen partners for team efforts in customizing cleantech platforms covering a wide spectrum of niche markets.

Back to top