Calculating Return on Investment (ROI)
PC Computing, July 1998

Your mind is made up. You want a flat-panel LCD screen on your desk - yesterday. But that doesn't mean the bean counters will be convinced. Where's the payback on a flat panel - which can cost twice as much as a 17-inch CRT?

Calculating ROI is tricky. The real payoff shows up in lower energy costs and space savings. LCD screens use less power than CRTs, thanks in part to their beginnings in mobile computing. Unlike flat-panel displays, CRT monitors suck up a lot of power because they must heat an electrode until electrons begin to boil off it at a frantic pace - which is why the back of your CRT is warm to the touch. Flat panels use up to one-third less power than CRTs, which translates into a potential savings of up to $55 per year per monitor on your electric bill, depending on your local rate. That doesn't sound like a lot, but as you replace more CRTs with flat-panels, the discount multiplies: That's a savings of $2750 on 50 LCDs, and an impressive $11,500 on 200 skinny screens.

A recent study that looked at flat panel ROI for a British financial company concluded that overall office energy consumption could be reduced by up to 15 percent. If your business's electric bill is $1000 per month, you could save $150 - a total savings of $1800 by year's end. And since flat screens don't give off heat, large companies can expect their cooling bills to drop too.
The other major savings with flat panels is space. For most offices, trading each person's CRT for a flat panel will simply result in more desktop real estate. But what if your business expands? The study also shows that 24% more employees fit into the same office space ( a trading floor) using LCD monitors instead of CRTs.
When you start from scratch with smaller, shallower desks, the savings on furniture boosts the overall ROI even more. For example, a modular desk that includes a corner piece (to accommodate the depth of a CRT) plus a short, straight piece could easily cost you $900. Skip the corner piece, and you'll save yourself $550.

Savings all round:

1. Cool Down. A CRT monitor makes enough heat to warm your hands on a chilly day. Replace CRTs with flat panels - which emit zero heat - and watch your cooling bills drop.
2. Economy Power. You'll spend more to buy one, but on average, an LCD screen uses only one-quarter to one-third the amount of power a CRT requires.
3. Room to Spare. The obvious advantage of a flat-panel display is the space it saves. A 15" LCD fits into about 40% of the area a 17" CRT takes up.
4. Eye Savers. Active-matrix LCD screens emit no radiation and are flicker free - so they're much easier on the eyes than CRTs. Less eyestrain means productivity gains and employee satisfaction.

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