We know how innovative Fujitsu is when it comes to hard drives, but recently the firm in association with Siemens announced the introduction of an innovative display that requires no electricity at all in idle mode. The technique is based on a new switch in the monitor that shuts it down entirely when the computer signal is absent and turns it on again when the signal reappears. According to the firm, with this switch, the display saves several euros per year in power costs.

At the end of a work day, the same routine occurs in most offices when the computer is shut down. But the monitor usually stays on—it automatically enters standby mode when there is no signal from the computer. Despite the minimal power consumption, this idle mode can entail tens of thousands of euros in additional power costs per year for large companies with several thousand computers.

How does it work?
The primary component is a circuit element in the power supply unit of the monitor that is switched by the PC. As soon as the video signal of the computer subsides, a relay—an electrically powered switch—with two switching positions automatically interrupts the entire electrical circuit of the monitor. When the computer signal returns again, the low currents that then begin to flow across the interface are sufficient to trigger the relay and thereby restart the monitor.

Beginning in the summer of 2008, this “zero-watt monitor” will be sold for the price of a conventional monitor.