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The Greening of IT
30 How Companies Can Make a Difference for the Environment

■ Turn off your entire computer system (CPU, monitor, and printer),
or at least your monitor and printer, when you go to lunch or will be
out of the office for a meeting or an errand.
■ As for computer servers that must be on to serve network functions,
explore ways to turn them off at night.
■ If monitors are not needed for servers to operate, keep server monitors off.
If you need server monitors during the day, at least turn them off at night
and on weekends.

Although the preceding energy-saving suggestions are appropriate for
many campus PC users, some of the suggestions might be inappropriate
for certain computer applications or work situations. When in doubt,
discuss possible energy conservation measures with your colleagues,
supervisor, or computer lab director to determine which steps you can
take without harming productivity. An energy conservation program
will not work without your help. Be an energy educator and gently
remind your coworkers and colleagues to save energy by changing their
computer habits. ptg

Other Considerations for Going Green on the Client Side

Much ongoing green technology coverage and debate focuses on
energy efficiency and environmental responsibility in the data center.
But there’s plenty that can be done on the client side at customer sites,
too. Many best practices can improve a customer’s green profile on the
desktop. Among the topics to consider are the role of power manage-
ment software utilities, evolving power supply design and battery
considerations, display technologies, and the latest multicore micro-
processors. Of course, you can use handy sources of information for green
best practices and certification information, such as the Federal Energy
Star program and Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool
(EPEAT). The motivation to go green also provides additional momen-
tum for moving to thin client and desktop virtualization options.

Data Center Energy-Efficiency Considerations

As discussed previously, both IT equipment and cooling consume
most of the power in a data center. As server power consumption has