Dell has recently revealed an early prototype for Concept Luna, a sustainable PC design that pushes the limit to reduce carbon footprint on their product.
The concept was developed in collaboration with Intel as it explores revolutionary design ideas to make components immediately accessible, replaceable and reusable—reducing resource use and keeping even more circular materials in the economy. Dell also confirmed the concept was created to test what could be possible and it is still not at the stage to be manufactured and sold. Dell claimed if the concept was realised, the company could expect to see an estimated 50% reduction in overall product carbon footprint.
So let’s learn more about Concept Luna:
- A reduced product carbon footprint: Dell looked at brand new ways to increase energy efficiency, deliver better power and cooling and experimented with materials that have a smaller carbon footprint to help deliver a more decarbonised device.
- Motherboards can be one of the most energy intense components to manufacture – by shrinking its total area by approximately 75% (now smaller than 5,580 mm2) and component count by approximately 20% , Dell estimates the carbon footprint of the motherboard could be reduced by 50%.
- Dell completely reconsidered the layout of all internal components – relocating that smaller motherboard to the top cover puts it closer to a larger surface area exposed to the cooler air outside. This, combined with separating it from the battery charging unit in the base, leads to better passive heat distribution and could totally eliminate the need for a fan.
- These efficiencies could significantly reduce the overall power needs – making way for a smaller battery with advanced deep-cycle cells that is still powerful enough for daily use.
- An aluminum chassis processed using hydro power and using a stamped aluminum construction requires less energy and produces minimal scrap.
- A future vision of reuse, repair and recreating: Dell’s position is simple – move from use, then recycle – to use, reuse multiple times and then recycle when the material is no longer usable in its original form. This iteration of Concept Luna does just that. It shows a vision for what could be.
- Dell reduced the number of screws by 10x, with just four needed to access internal components – reducing time for repairs (to disassemble, repair and reassemble key components) by approximately 1.5 hours (16x faster than for a similar product today).
- The palm rest assembly is intentionally designed for ease of repair and reuse. The keyboard mechanisms provide clean, easy separation from other components and simplify recycling.
- The advanced deep-cycle cell battery provides a long charge that can be maintained across many years of use, increasing refurbishment and reuse beyond the first product life it services.
- A new bio-based printed circuit board (or ‘PCB’) is made with flax fiber in the base and water-soluble polymer as the glue. What’s noteworthy here is that the flax fiber replaces traditional plastic laminates. And even better, the water-soluble polymer can “dissolve” — meaning recyclers can more easily separate metals and components from the boards.
While it was an amazing concept, Dell has just proved that modern PC could be even more environmentally friendly as technology progress. For now, we have to wait for future official announcement by Dell on sustainable PC design.
Credited to Dell