A
green desktop computing strategy is not only
beneficial in terms of corporate responsibility credentials. It
can also significantly reduce energy costs across the
organisation.
Yet only a few forward-thinking organisations have embraced the
concept of green IT, given that an environmental or sustainable
approach to business lends an organisation ethical kudos, and also
substantial bottom-line savings in terms of energy costs.
A study from IT services supplier
Computacenter and
Fujitsu Siemens Computers, for example, shows
that the UK's top 200 listed companies waste more than £61m in
electricity a year by not maximising the energy efficiency of their
desktop computers.
Other research estimates that, on average, up to 20% of energy
used in offices is wasted - much of which could be saved by
purchasing more efficient IT equipment and managing them more
effectively.
In addition, the
Climate Change Levy, introduced by the UK
government in April 2001, is set to push up the electricity bill of
most organisations, with the levy initially set at 0.43 per
kilowatt hour (plus VAT), but set to rise year on year.
According to figures from not-for-profit government organisation
the Carbon Trust, office equipment such as desktop
PCs, monitors, printers, photocopiers and projectors accounts for
about 15% of the UK's total energy consumption, and this figure is
expected to rise to 30% by 2020.
The good news, however, is that there is a growing
acknowledgement by the IT department that an energy-efficient
approach to computing can significantly reduce the energy footprint
of an organisation, and therefore energy costs.
According to an Intel survey of 200 IT managers in the UK, 66%
said that energy consumption had become a board-level issue, and
69% stated that decreasing energy consumption was viewed as a
business priority going forward.
Despite the clear intention to reduce energy consumption, less
than 20% of survey respondents had conducted an energy audit.
There also appears to be a perception that energy-efficient IT
equipment is more expensive than non-specialist systems, which can
impact the procurement decision. Richard Edwards, senior research
analyst at the Butler Group, believes this is a short-term
view.
"In some cases there might be a cost premium on the original
purchase price, but that is not the only factor to consider. CIOs
have to think about the lifelong operation and maintenance costs of
equipment, as well as the disposal angle. Even within product
ranges from the same PC manufacturer there can be significant
differences in power consumption, which across the estate of IT
equipment will have a major impact on energy costs."
The PC processor box and monitor are two of the more
power-hungry devices on the increasingly cluttered desktop,
accounting for 66% of IT's total energy consumption. Photocopiers
and printers consume another 25% of the total.
Edwards calculates that a notebook with power-efficient
components can provide energy savings of up to 80% compared to a PC
connected to a CRT monitor with incorrectly configured power
management features.
"A large office block housing 1,250 employees consumes about 2.5
gigawatt hours annually, at a cost of approximately £134,000. If
notebooks reduce that by 80% then it is worth having. Even if
energy bills are cut in half, that is an annual saving of £50,000
in energy costs," he says.
Manufacturers of processors and PCs have been working to reduce
this energy footprint, and most now offer low-energy,
high-performance, business-grade PCs incorporating power-saving
features.
Chip manufacturers Intel and AMD have introduced low-voltage
processors - the
Core2 Duo and
Athlon, respectively - which can
significantly reduce energy consumption and boost
performance.
Intel, for example, says that its Core2 Duo desktop processor
provides a 40% improvement in performance over a Pentium processor,
while offering a 40% decrease in energy consumption.
The PC manufacturers themselves - including Fujitsu-Siemens,
Dell, IBM and HP - have also introduced energy-saving elements into
the design of desktop computers, as well as incorporating these
high-power, low-energy processors.
Fujitsu-Siemens' Esprimo PC range, for
example, is smaller, which equates to less packaging and
materials, and has been designed to maximise airflow throughout
the system. The design reduces the power used by cooling fans,
which are required less frequently and at lower speeds, thus
reducing energy consumption, heat and noise.
Power consumption in idle mode has also been reduced in the
Esprimo PC. Paul Craddock, product marketing manager for static,
client and display devices at Fujitsu-Siemens, says the dual-core
AMD Athlon 64 processor in its Esprimo "E" series uses less power
than a lightbulb when in idle mode - 54W compared to 64W.
This translates to a 35% reduction in energy consumption. Taking
a typical European energy price of 10p per kilowatt hour, the
Esprimo could deliver a potential saving of £647 per year across
100 devices. Across 1,000 devices over a three-year period that is
equivalent to a saving of more than £19,000.
Thanks to the reduced packaging and cost of transport - the
company has also transferred its transport method from air to ships
- Fujitsu-Siemens has absorbed any price differential. Craddock
said the company's "green" range of PCs are no more expensive than
its other systems.
Likewise, Dell offers an airflow-optimised BTX system, as well
as a thermal management system on its value
Optiplex 320 line and its business PCs, the
Optiplex 740 (AMD processor) and 745
(Intel).
These new computing platforms also incorporate system management
features such as remote power cycling, which allows IT
administrators to switch network-attached devices on or off.
Furthermore, Microsoft's Vista also enables PCs to be rapidly
powered up from the sleep state, which can reduce the energy
consumed by a "woken" PC by 70%.
Another power-hungry device is the monitor, with flat screens
estimated to save £36 per year per system in energy costs compared
to a CRT screen.
Rick Thwaites, UK marketing manager for corporate desktop and
professional workstations at Dell, says, "If the organisation has
1,000 monitors that is a huge saving, with the acquisition price of
the device easily recouped over the lifecycle of the product in
terms of energy savings."
Along with power savings, flatscreens offer improved resolution
over CRT, and the Clearsight technology found in XP and Vista,
means that it is becoming easier to read documents on-screen,
removing the need for printing reams of documents.
Energy-efficient PCs also provide simple power management
features, such as a switch-off monitor outlet which turns off the
monitor whenever the PC is switched off. Again, this offers
significant savings over the IT hardware estate and product
lifecycle.
An often overlooked source of energy consumption is the power
adapter, which itself typically consumes 50% of the power delivered
to it.
But new equipment is not necessarily a prerequisite for cutting
energy costs, with the power consumption of a PC determined by a
range of features, including policies such as whether systems are
switched off at night, screen size, the operating system and the
correct use of power management features.
An obvious starting point for energy reduction is to ensure that
all computer equipment is turned off when it is not being used. At
the same time, contrary to popular opinion, screen savers do not
save energy, and so screen savers should be set to "blank" or
"none".
Setting policies on printer use can also reduce the wastage of
consumables. "Policy issues are more relevant on the printing side.
Ink cartridges can be expensive and it is almost cheaper to buy a
new desktop printer, which can be as little as £50.
"We might see a move back to the print room mentality, which
would reduce the number of inefficient printers on desks and
prevent users from printing out 'willy nilly'," Edwards says.
Rob Bamforth, principal analyst at research firm Quocirca, says
there are three areas for CIOs to consider in terms of "green IT":
the manufacture and disposal of IT equipment, energy consumption of
the devices, and consumables, such as paper, printer ink and
cartridges.
"Small percentages soon add up across the organisation's IT
estate. For devices it is about using power management and energy
saving modes, while for printers, the biggest potential savings
come from consumables."
Bamforth believes that the biggest savings can come from
re-architecting the IT infrastructure: "For every Watt used to
power a device, three more are required for cooling.
"IT needs to architect for as much consolidation of computing
power, data storage and printing as possible. Move anything
possible back into the shared infrastructure - for example, users
that need a high horse-power PC do not necessarily need it on the
desk it could be provided from within the infrastructure."
He urges CIOs to ensure that the impact of any energy-saving
decisions they make is recognised and credited across the
organisation.
"This is not something the IT department can do on its own. For
example, the benefits of reduced power consumption, and the
decreased cooling demands it might enable throughout a building,
will likely fall under the remit of HR and facilities," Bamforth
says.
"IT has to show that its decisions are impacting the
organisation and it needs to get credit for that. For example, if
energy costs are reduced because of IT's decisions, then the
freed-up money should be reinvested to provide other, or newer, IT
resources. There should be a positive trade-off for IT."
Although some organisations are turning to green IT to reduce
energy costs, others are using it to "tick the box" for the
requirements of fair and ethical business strategies. A growing
number of commercial businesses, such as those listed in the FTSE
For Good Index and organisations in the public sector, are keen to
showcase their green credentials.
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), one of the UK's
largest trade unions employing more than 450 staff, is one such
example. In 2005, the PCS had reached the end of a four-year
leasing cycle on its desktop IT equipment, and having introduced a
fair and ethical trading policy in August that year, purchased
energy efficient devices from Fujitsu-Siemens, including 200 Scenic
E computers and 220 Esprimo E5905 professional desktop PCs.
"We were very impressed by how relatively pain-free the whole
roll-out was. We were able to agree a competitive price and, most
importantly, Fujitsu-Siemens has an excellent track-record in the
manufacture of green computers. This was a vital consideration for
us as we have an obligation to use suppliers that have excellent
environmental standards," says Gordon Paterson, director of IT at
PCS.
But whether the reasons for going green are environmentally or
financially motivated, it is becoming clear that the IT department
cannot afford to ignore them any longer.
Environmental IT
climbs the agenda
Do you run a
green machine?
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