TORONTO, Canada — Most servers in data centers operate at a 4 percent utilization rate, making these energy-guzzling facilities prime targets for improved efficiency.

And when it comes to cutting energy use further, employee practices are no match for the results that can be achieved by power management and other central-control systems.

These are some of the lessons learned at a recent green IT meeting held by Greening Greater Toronto and the Ontario Institute of the Purchasing Management Association of Canada. The groups released findings (PDF) this week from the meeting, originally held in May.

Participants at the meeting, part of what has been dubbed a "Green Exchange" series, agreed that organizations exploring green IT are interested in cost efficiency and competing with their industry peers. They want technologies that are easy to implement, with a low capital investment.

Data centers stand to benefit enormously from targeted efficiency efforts, with most servers run at an average 4 percent utilization rate.

"This is a consequence of the biggest design priority being uptime and capacity," the groups wrote in their meeting notes. "Cooling is often done to eliminate even the smallest chance of overheating, resulting in situations where thermostats set adjacent to a heat emitting radiator cause rooms to be kept at freezer temperatures. The easiest savings available come through optimization of design, utilization and housing."

Switching from servers to mainframes and turning to virtualization can improve the server utilization rate. Tweaking thermostat temperatures and placing thermostats and fans strategically can also help improve air circulation and temperature in order to rein in energy consumption.

Buying products that are certified to use less energy is another way to reduce consumption, while exploring technologies that improve workforce mobility, such as virtual collaboration tools, can also trim IT-related energy footprints.

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