The eco-friendly wooden computer that could spark a revolution

Even in the design-obsessed 21st century, when our iPod Nanos come in all the colours of the rainbow and flat-panel TVs are hung on walls and admired like works of art, wooden computer are still capable of turning heads. But this one aims to do more than make a fashion statement – its goal is to save the planet.

This is the prototype of what its manufacturers, PC World, claim is the UK's first truly carbon-neutral mass-market PC. Due to be launched in October, it uses between 13 and 17 per cent of the energy of a standard desktop computer. And if it sells well, it could spark a revolution, reversing our ever-growing appetite for power-hungry gadgets.

"There has been an increasing interest from the public for a green computer," says Peter Lyons of DSG International, the parent company of PC World and Currys. "In the past, environmental products have asked consumers to make a compromise. That's why they haven't been very successful – previous low-power units have performed very slowly so they can't do as much as a standard computer. But this is going to have the same sort of power as one of the average units on sale at Christmas – and it will cost about the same, too."

Lighter than a standard mini-tower, the PC (which is yet to be named) is easily moved. It doesn't have a fan, which saves energy and also makes it very quiet. Users will save around £29 a year on their electricity bill, based on an average of five hours' use a day. PC World also intends to offset the carbon emitted in the production and delivery of the machines, and plans to offset some of its customers' carbon emissions by giving them an energy-saving light bulb or two. All the packaging will be produced from recycled materials, and there are no instruction manuals - everything has been put on CD. The base unit will cost around £399, and the screen an additional £100.
Across the UK, the output of about two-and-a-half 700MW power stations is accounted for by gadgets left on stand-by. The UK's DVD players and video recorders consume over £255m worth of electricity each year while on stand-by, producing over one million tons of CO2. Mobile phone chargers left plugged in are responsible for a 250,000 tons of CO2.

If the green PC catches on, it could be the tipping point. But in the meantime, make sure you don't leave your PC "sleeping" all day – switch it off or get a laptop (some use just a tenth of the power of desktop PCs). But it might not be long before you have a PC built with the environment in mind. And soon you might be able to get the wooden TV, hi-fi and DVD-player to match.
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