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A push to eliminate wasted computer power could cut Penn State's energy costs by $800,000, the university reports.
By using BigFix power management technology, the university estimates it could save $25 to $60 a year per computer. BigFix allows IT staff to monitor computer use and put computers into sleep mode remotely.
With 20,000 computers already using the technology, if they all hit the middle of that savings range, Penn State would cut $800,000 from its energy bills each year.
BigFix, purchased by IBM last year, also allows IT staff to remotely take computers out of sleep mode and mange them by updating software or changing power settings, saving the time that would be spent managing each one in person.
The use of BigFix technology is part of the Systems Management at Penn State program, and has also been adopted by the university's Cooperative Lab Management (CLM) program, which aims to provide consistent user interfaces at campus computers, making it easier for students to work in various labs and reducing IT staff time spent managing computers. From Penn State:
(Penn State systems design specialist Brian) Katyl said departments that use the CLM service can save an average of $56 per machine per year because of its aggressive BigFix power management settings. Across the University there are about 6,100 machines that have the CLM service; he estimates the overall Cooperative Lab Management effort saves about $340,000 per year.
Power button - CC license by William Hook/Flickr
It's really not surprising to
It's really not surprising to us (1E). To date, our energy efficiency solutions have helped our customers save in excess of $550m in energy costs alone, cutting CO2 emissions by 4.5 million tons. There's a couple important differentiators here. First of all, the business user must still be able to be productive, meaning the computer must be on when they are needed and off when they are need to be. The client health piece of our solution ensures that PCs can actually be turned off successfully and not sitting in a power demanding shutdown hiatus. The other issue is that most solutions use an industry calculation that makes a bunch of assumptions - and ends up not being an accurate representation of savings. I noticed the "IF" in this article, in relation to "if they all hit the middle of that savings range". 1E's NightWatchman product actually digs down to the make and model of the PC to give completely accurate savings information and gives modeling based on the different power savings options you can choose. From a business standpoint, its good to not be surprised at the end of an implementation when the savings aren't as good as you were led to believe.
It’s quite surprising that
It’s quite surprising that that much money can be saved with the simple act of keeping computers on only when needed. We wonder how much this installation costs, although we’re also sure that cost is offset by savings in the first year. It just drives home the point that simple acts really add up to save money.