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Growth in business personal computing means that by 2008 there will be some 1.2 billion PCs active across the globe. That is a huge amount of your energy bill going straight to the desktop. Add in the fact that nearly 60% of the ambient temperature in your office is down to technology, and you have a vicious cycle of heating and cooling caused by our reliance and love of the computer. Thinning the desktop is a good strategy for many, removing the processing grunt of a PC and replacing it with a device that relies on central servers to run its applications. The average thin client device draws about one-tenth the power of the desktop PC; so major energy and cooling savings are achievable. However, many users need the power of a desktop PC, or use a laptop machine for business mobility. The main problem with desktop machines is not that they draw too much energy but that we leave them on for 8 hours a day on average, sometimes 24 hours a day for those who are more forgetful. Managing the power profile of the desktop can reduce the average power consumption by 40-50%, taking the PC within reach of the power efficiency of a thin client. So, when you go into that meeting for a couple of hours and forget to turn your machine off (we don’t because they take too long to turn back on), PC Power Management can reduce its power use by up to 97% and have the machine working for you again at the touch of the mouse. Implementing PC Power Management can save up to £35 per desktop per year in power use, as well as the resulting CO2 emissions. It could also allow you to turn your air conditioning down a notch or two. |
