Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus that operates according to given operational conditions, comprising:

• a target power consumption receiving unit configured to receive a target value for power consumption;
• an option receiving unit configured to receive options selected by a user from among a plurality of options defining the operational conditions;
• a basic data storage unit storing therein basic data for each of the plurality of options, the basic data being used for calculating estimated power consumption;
• a calculation unit configured to calculate the estimated power consumption from the basic data according to the options selected by the user;
• an excess informing unit configured to inform the user, together with the options, when the estimated power consumption is greater than the target value;
• and
• an alternative option informing unit configured to inform the user of an alternative option among the plurality of options when the estimated power consumption is greater than the target value, the alternative option reducing the estimated power consumption to be equal to or less than the target value,
• wherein the target power consumption and the selected options are input by the user, and
• wherein the alternative option informing unit is configured to inform the user, in response to the user inputting the target power consumption and the options, of whether the target power consumption will be achieved.