The Climate Savers group has been pushing the EPA  to improve its Energy Star rating, claiming that the specification isn't demanding enough of manufacturers.

Part of the current 4.0 specification is compliance with the 80 Plus initiative, a move to boost the efficiency of PC power supplies (which average around 65% efficiency today). And the EPA seems to agree with them, at least according to the draft 5.0 specification.

Energy Star 5.0, which won't go into effect until July 2009, states that for computers to meet the new, tighter specs, they should have an 85% minimum efficiency at 50% of rated output and 82% minimum efficiency at 20% and 100% of rated output. That's much tougher! While there are a few power supplies on the market today that do meet these standards, such as the Antec NeoPower line, few will meet this stringent standard without some help.

Draft 5.0 was released on February 22 but the big debate on it is just around the corner. The EPA will be holding a web meeting on Tuesday April 8, 2008, from 12 PM to 2 PM, Eastern Standard Time, to discuss Draft 1 of the ENERGY STAR Computer Specification Version 5.0. We'll be sure to report back on how it goes.