The Climate Savers Computing Initiative's goal is to promote smart technologies and computing practices that can both improve the efficiency of a computer's power delivery and reduce the energy consumed when the computer is in an inactive state.
Green IT: Taking the First Step
An address by Dr. Dileep Bhandarkar, Distinguished Engineer, Microsoft, at the 2008 CeBIT Conference
The concept of green computing is everwhere these days.
Individuals and businesses increasingly look for ways to reduce their energy costs and environmental impact. As an individual, "greening" your life can be expensive and require personal sacrifice, as you weigh the pros and cons of driving less, recycling more, swapping out light bulbs, and more. Meanwhile, businesses are assessing the bottom-line impact of all the green technologies that are coming to market to ensure they won't take a financial or productivity hit in the name of sustainability.
One of the simple and immediate ways both individuals and businesses can make an impact is with their computing practices. Many people don't realize that the average desktop PC wastes nearly half the power it draws from the wall socket. This excess energy is dissipated as heat. The average server wastes 30 to 40 percent of its power.
Through electricity usage, a computer running 10 or more hours per day can account for as much as one-tenth of a car's annual CO2 emissions. With more than a billion computers in use worldwide today, the wasted electricity and resulting CO2 emissions are tremendous.
In mid 2007, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative (CSCI) formed to address the issue of computing efficiency.
This nonprofit consortium brings together eco-conscious consumers, businesses and conservation organizations to reduce computer power consumption by 50 percent by 2010 by making new computers more power-efficient, and increasing the use of power management on existing computers. Leading members include World Wildlife Fund, Supermicro, Sun, Pacific Gas & Electric, NEC, Microsoft, Marvell Semiconductor, Lenovo, Intel, HP, Hitachi, Google, Fujitsu, EDS, eBay, Delta Electronics, Dell and AMD.
CSCI was started in the spirit of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Climate Savers program, which has mobilized over a dozen companies since 1999 to cut CO2 emissions, demonstrating that reducing emissions is good business. The Climate Savers Computing Initiative's goal is to promote smart technologies and computing practices that can both improve the efficiency of a computer's power delivery and reduce the energy consumed when the computer is in an inactive state.
Computers can be made more energy efficient with power management features that put the computer into a "sleep" mode when it is idle. Power management features are already standard on most computers today, but nine out of 10 desktop computer users have the features disabled. If each of CeBIT's estimated 480,000 attendees enabled power management on a desktop computer today, together we could save over 113 million kilowatt hours per year of electricity—equivalent to taking more than 17,000 cars off the road.
For even greater energy reductions, new PCs and servers can use more energy-efficient components to utilize 90 percent or more of the electricity delivered to them. The Climate Savers Computing Initiative currently recommends Energy Star 4.0–compliant PCs, which feature power supplies that are at least 80 percent efficient. In future years, the Initiative's criteria gradually increase to 90 percent efficient by 2010. Likewise, the Initiative recommends servers with 85 percent efficient power supplies in the first year, increasing to 92 percent efficiency by 2010.
The Initiative's Web site includes an online catalog of more than 300 energy-efficient desktop PCs, laptops, servers, power supplies, power supply components, motherboards, and power management software.
To date, more than 150 companies and organizations have joined the Initiative, and thousands of individuals have pledged their support. By joining the Initiative, individuals and businesses become part of a powerful collective voice demanding energy-efficient computers, thereby driving the cost penalty lower through higher volumes.
For more information about energy-efficient computing, or to pledge your support for the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, go to the Climate Savers Web site.
For information and guidance on top 10 issues you can address in your data center, see Energy Efficiency Operations in Microsoft Data Center Operations.
