Reducing Computer Power Consumption

Until recently, the focus in reducing IT energy consumption has been on the data center, and vendors have pursued a variety of exotic cost-cutting technologies that range from server virtualization to storing energy in flywheels instead of batteries. But there is another opportunity for substantial reductions in power usage: the desktop. The energy used by 1,000 workstations in one year is equivalent to 880 barrels of oil, or 43,180 gallons of gasoline. Assuming those 1,000 computers are always on, this energy costs more than $90,000. All these numbers can be significantly reduced by the simple practice of turning off desktop computers when they are not in use.

Managing Desktop Power Consumption

Facility departments foot the energy bill. Therefore, any way to reduce energy waste and costs is certainly explored. Reducing computer energy is one such way, but has always been a problem because IT departments have in the past cited four reasons why computers can not be turned off during downtimes:

1) IT departments need the not-in-use periods to perform routine maintenance such as patching and installing updates. If workstations have been shut down manually or via standard operating system functionality, maintenance is impossible.

2) Defining “not in use.” The standard power-saving functions that come with the Microsoft Windows or Mac operating systems rely solely on the absence of mouse and keyboard activity, which is often not an accurate indicator of computer activity.

3) Defining what it means for a computer to be powered down. Is it in standby, hibernating, or totally off?

4) Reporting, since the operating system’s power-saving functions cannot provide any data about the number of hours the computers are on or off.

That being said, there are ways that IT and Facilities can work together. IT departments can be convinced to deploy a power-reduction solution that does not impose any burdens of its own. It must be non-intrusive, and deployable via all the popular desktop-management tools..

Faronics Power Save is such a product, since it dramatically reduces computer energy costs without impacting IT's ability to manage workstations. Power Save eliminates up to 70% of Windows and Mac computer energy waste, and for every 1,000 computers Power Save is deployed on, organizations save up to $40,000 per year. It can also prove these saving through savings reports. Most importantly, Power Save is non-disruptive to the user and IT, while delivering real savings to the Facility department. A free 30 day evaluation of Power Save is available from the Faronics website.

By using an enterprise energy management solution, IT and Facility departments can work together to reduce an educational institution’s energy bill and carbon footprint without burdening either department. Both IT and Facilities win.

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