Going green” is a trend spreading across many industries, as small and mid-sized companies look for ways to reduce energy costs and some try to set an example of being environmentally responsible. In June, several U.S. software, hardware and Internet companies joined forces making a commitment to cut the amount of electricity that computers consume in half by 2010.
The initiative will involve the development of computer hardware using existing power saving technology that meets the 80-percent efficiency standard of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star program and the launch of a campaign to educate consumers, businesses and governments on how to use computer hardware more efficiently.
“Today, the average desktop PC wastes nearly half of its power, and the average server wastes one-third of its power,” Urs Hölzle, senior vice president of operations for Mountain View, Calif.-based Google, Inc. said during the announcement of the initiative. “The Climate Savers Computing Initiative is setting a new 90 percent efficiency target for power supplies which, if achieved, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54 million tons per year — and save more than $5.5 billion in energy costs.”
The Climate Savers Computing Initiative was organized by Google and Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel Corp. Other corporations and organizations already on board supporting the initiative include: Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP), Hitachi Ltd., IBM Corp., Lenovo Group Ltd., Microsoft Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., Yahoo Inc., the Natural Resources Defense Council, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The Climate Savers Computing Initiative is an effort associated with other Climate Savers programs within the WWF. Climate Savers as a whole focuses on working with leading companies to cut carbon dioxide emissions, said Matthew Guyer, director of corporate relations for WWF.
“In partnership with the WWF, companies commit to absolute, measurable greenhouse gas reduction targets,” Guyer said. “In helping contribute to a lower carbon future, we aim to help slow climate change. We are already witnessing the impacts of climate change on the places we work to protect – from melting glaciers in places like the Himalayas to retreating Arctic sea ice to coral bleaching in the Indo Pacific.”
HP and Microsoft nationally are investing in energy saving technologies internally as well as in their individual product development departments, while Oconomowoc-based Paragon Development Systems Inc. (PDS) is educating customers on its own initiatives.
PDS is not directly involved with the Climate Savers Computing Initiative but has made a push in the past year to bring awareness of energy consumption and conservation to its employees and customers.
PDS has focused on virtualization and blade servers over the past few years to help customers save space and energy on the operating costs of a network.
In a data center, not only do the servers consume energy with their internal fans, but the air conditioning needed inside the room is costly as well, said Austin Park, vice president of infrastructure services for PDS.
This month, PDS plans to kick off an initiative to incorporate an entire data center built in a green fashion that will reduce energy consumption by 60 to 70 percent, Park said.
“We have as a company directly impacted energy costs for customers,” Park said. “We have two main focuses, one on infrastructure optimization, which includes consolidation consulting, and the elimination of waste.”
Servers are faster and hotter today than they were 10 years ago, Park said.
“The average computer in a home is 200 watts and the average price for energy is 7.5 cents per kilowatt. That is $125 just in sheer electricity costs,” Park said. “In a server, the average VM processor consumes about 165 or more watts today and a dual processor consumes 325. That is just for the processor. Servers within a year can equate to an operational cost of over $1,000.”
Among other initiatives and commitments, HP recently received gold status from the Green Electronics Council for the rp5700 Business Desktop PC, the first product to meet the requirements of the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT).
The rp5700 was built with 95 percent recyclable components and provides a power supply that is 80 percent efficient and is up to 15 percent more efficient than standard power supplies.
Later this year, Microsoft plans to unveil a dashboard enterprise resource planning (ERP) that companies can use to track their environmental footprints and initiatives, said Mike Porter, area general manager for Microsoft’s Midwest district.
The program, called Microsoft Dynamics, can be integrated with Microsoft SharePoint. An online community will also be available for people to participate in discussions regarding the current status and future stability of the environment.
Internally, Microsoft has invested in solar panels, offered commuter services, introduced recycling programs and is currently converting shuttle buses at its Redmond, Wash. headquarters campus to hybrid vehicles, Porter said.
“Microsoft continues to be at the forefront as a thought leader and we want to make sure we are doing everything we can as an organization, but have the opportunity to help others have more control, empowerment and accountability,” Porter said.
The idea of clean technology is no longer a social issue, but a reality that smaller companies are investing in and a responsibility large corporations see as dependent on the future. Just as more models of hybrid cars come off the lines at automotive factories, consumers will soon see energy efficiency while computing as a developing and affordable trend.
Computer energy saving tips
The majority of businesses and consumers will not be jumping ahead to purchase all new hardware after learning that the average desktop PC wastes more than half of the power delivered to it. Palo Alto-based Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) offers these tips that consumers can use to save energy with current hardware:
• Power down all electronic equipment when not in use.
• Do not use screensavers. Screensavers use 28 percent more energy than if a computer is set in sleep mode.
• Run PC updates during the day to avoid having to leave computers on overnight.
• Set printers to sleep mode. They will quickly return to activity status when new print jobs are submitted.
• Look for the Energy Star label. Americans saved $12 billion last year through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star program.
• Notebook computers use up to 90 percent less energy than standard desktops.
• According to the Berkley National Laboratory, a federal research institution, as much as 10 percent of residential energy consumption comes from appliances that are turned off or in sleep mode. Avoid this by unplugging appliances when they’re not in use or using a power strip that can be turned off.
• Flat screen LCDs use one-half to two-thirds of the energy required for a bulky monitor.
• Consider an all-in-one rather than having a separate fax, printer and copier. They save on electricity and space and reduce equipment heat emissions.
“Initially, we want consumers to have more choice by having more energy efficient products available,” Guyer said. “Eventually, we want to shift the economics so that consumers have only good choices.”
