Personal computers have become
a necessity in our society. When you think
of an office what comes to mind? Fax machines,
PCs, monitors, servers, printers, and copiers. All
of the previously listed technological devices help
generate the energy consumption of a company. Personal
computers total cost of ownership (TCO) is quite
expensive. TCO of a computer includes the maintenance,
repairing of hardware, installing and updating software,
and powering the computing infrastructure. The
money spent on power bills may be the most costly
part of ownership. The computer and its monitor
are the commercial sector’s most rapidly increasing
energy device. A large part of all energy consumed
is by computers.
In 1999 and 2000 research proved that the Internet
along with the information and communication technology
(ITC) equipment required to support it was responsible
for 8% of U.S. electrical power consumption. Other
research has been done since then with results not
concurrent with their findings. Although the
numbers for the two researches do not match, PC’s remain
the largest contributor to plug load electricity representing
approximately 9% of electricity consumed nationwide
in commercial buildings.
Much of the energy that is consumed is wasted. Computers
are often left running during nights, weekends, and
extended periods of user absence. There are 71
million PC’s and monitors in the U.S., not including
those in residential homes. These devices consume
41.8 billion-kilowatt hours (kWh) according to an ADL
research. This is equivalent to:
· 16% of the total consumption of California in 1999
· The total combined electrical generation of New York state’s
six nuclear power plants
The same report also forecasts a continuing increase
in the consumption of energy in the office equipment
category. By the year 2010 there is estimated
to be 135 billion kWh a year consumed for PC devices. Computers
and their monitors will on average waste half of the
energy they consume, when compared to actual demand. The
average PC/monitor combination consumes between 400
and 700 kWh per year. As much as 100-300kWh of
this energy is lost to inefficiency, because computers
consume energy even when no one is using it.
There have been attempts to minimize the waste of power
by computers. In the mid 1990s advanced power
management (APM) allowed computers and monitors to
slip into lower-power states when they were not in
active use. Instantly available PC or IAPC was
introduced in 2001. Many companies fail to realize
the energy savings they except, because of the misuse
of the power management features Employees often
reset or override the energy-saving features.
The power management systems that are available are
capable of reducing energy consumption as long as users
keep them enabled and active. Only 25% of commercial
PC users enable the energy management capabilities
on their systems today. If 100% of commercial
PC users simply enabled their existing power management
system the savings would be overwhelming. The
savings could reach 17 billion kWh per year. Enforcing
a nighttime shutdown requirement can save a year another
7 billion kWh. The commercial sector wastes 24
billion kWh of energy, while public institutions may
waste a few billion kWh. Based on the nations
average energy rate of $0.0725 per kWh the waste can
reach $2 billion a year.
What are some solutions to saving energy that we all
can do?
· Don’t keep your computer on unless they are being used
· Use energy saving features
· Consider energy efficiency when making new purchases
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