Green Computing Guide

Introduction
Computer Operating Costs
Energy Efficient Computing
    Enable Power Management Features
   When Not in Use Turn Off the Juice
   Some Specific Suggestions
Other Green Computing Practices
   Reducing Paper Waste
   Reusing and Recycling
   Purchasing Recommendations
Campus Environmental Policies
Download the Green Computing Guide (1.42 MB)

Introduction

The growing use of computers on campus has caused a dramatic increase in energy consumption, putting negative pressure on CU’s budget and the environment. Each year more and more computers are purchased and put to use, but it’s not just the number of computers that is driving energy consumption upward. The way that we use computers also adds to the increasing energy burden.

Research reveals that most personal desktop computers are not being used the majority of the time they are running and many personal computers nationwide are needlessly left on continuously. Every time we leave computers or lights on we waste electricity. Burning fossil fuels generates most of our electricity and it also emits pollutants, sulfur, and carbon dioxide into the air. These emissions can cause respiratory disease, smog, acid rain and global climate change.

Computer Operating Costs

Over the last fifteen years, computers have transformed the academic and administrative landscape at the University of Colorado. There are now over 18,000 computers on campus. Personal computers (PC) operation alone may directly account for nearly $550,000 per year in University energy costs.

Computers generate heat and require additional cooling which adds to energy costs. Thus, the overall energy cost of CU’s personal computers is more likely around $700,000.

Meeting computer cooling needs in summer (and winter) often compromises the efficient use of building cooling and heating systems by requiring colder fan discharge temperatures. In the summer, these temperatures may satisfy computer lab cooling needs while overcooling other spaces.

Given CU’s commitment to energy conservation and the environmental stewardship, we must address the issue of responsible computer use. By adopting conserving practices, annual savings of $300,000-400,000 are possible.

How Much Energy Does Your Computer System Use?
A typical desktop PC system is comprised of the computer itself (the CPU or the “box”), a monitor, and printer. Your CPU may require approximately 100 watts of electrical power. Add 50-150 watts for a 15-17 inch monitor, proportionately more for larger monitors. The power requirements of conventional laser printers can be as much as 100 watts or more when printing though much less if idling in a “sleep mode.” Ink jet printers use as little as 12 watts while printing and 5 watts while idling.

How a user operates the computer also factors into energy costs. First let’s take the worst case scenario, continuous operation. Assuming you operate a 200 watt PC system day and night everyday, direct annual electrical costs would be over $125 (at $0.075/kWh). In contrast, if you operate your system just during normal business hours, say 40 hours per week, the direct annual energy cost would be about $30 – plus, of course, the cost of providing additional cooling.

Considering the tremendous benefits of computer use, neither of the above cost figures may seem like much, but think of what happens when these costs are multiplied by the many thousands of computers in use at CU. The energy waste dollars add up quickly.

Energy Efficient Computing

Here are some tested suggestions that may make it possible for you to reduce your computer energy consumption by 80 percent or more while still retaining most or all productivity and other benefits of your computer system, including network connectivity.

Screen savers save no energy
If screen saver images appear on your monitor for more than 5 minutes, you are wasting energy! Screen saver programs may save the phosphors in your monitor screen, but this is not really a concern with newer monitors, especially LCD screens. And they do not save any energy.

A screen saver that displays moving images causes your monitor to consume as much as electricity as it does when in active use. These screen saver programs also involve system interaction with your CPU that results in additional energy consumption. A blank screen saver is slightly better but even that only reduces monitor energy consumption by a few percent.

Enable power management features
Thanks to the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA), personal computer systems purchased today can be easy on energy. These “Energy Star” computers and monitors can be programmed to automatically “power-down” to a low power state when they are not being used. These efficiency gains can be achieved without any sacrifice in computing performance.

The EPA has estimated that providing computers with “sleep mode” reduces their energy use by 60 to 70 percent – and ultimately could save enough electricity each year to power Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, cut electric bills by $2 billion, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of 5 million cars.

Follow these simple steps to access computer and monitor power management features for Macintosh and Windows.

Macintosh:

• From any application select the Apple menu
• Select “System Preferences...” (OS X) or “Control Panels” (OS 9) and then click on “Energy Saver”

Windows:

• Point your cursor at the desktop background and right-click
• Choose “Properties” from the pop up menu
• Go to the “Screen Saver” page; in the lower right-hand corner near the ENERGY STAR® logo click the “Settings” button. This brings up another dialog box where you choose power management settings.

If you are running on a different operating system or have difficulties, call ITS at 303-735-HELP for enabling instructions.

The recommended settings are 20 minutes for monitor sleep and 30 minutes for system sleep. Remember that to save energy with your monitor’s built-in power management system, your monitor must go to sleep (shut itself down).

For more conservation tips and PC power options visit Facilities Management’s Resource Conservation news page, and then click on “PC Power Options.”

When not in use, turn off the juice
This is the most basic energy conservation strategy for any type of equipment. Consider the following:

• Turn off your computer and/or peripherals when they are not in use. Turning on and off will not harm the equipment.
• Don’t run computers continuously unless they are in use continuously.
• Turn off at night and on weekends
• Look for ways to reduce the amount of time your computer is on without adversely affecting your productivity.

You Can Turn Your Computer Off!
The common misconception that a computer’s life is shortened by turning it on and off has led some to leave computers on all the time. Others are reluctant to switch their computers on and off a couple times during their workday despite only using this equipment for a fraction of that time.

Desktop computers are designed to protect the internal circutry from power damage from on/off switching. Turning PC equipment off at night or on and off a few times a day will not appreciably affect its useful life. Electronic equipment life is a function of operating hours and heat — both these factors are reduced when equipment is switched off. Modern hard drives are designed and tested to operate reliably for thousands of on/off cycles.

Thus, you CAN turn off your computer (and monitor and printer)! The inconvenience of waiting a minute or two for a computer to reboot or peripheral to come on line may be trivial compared to the energy savings achieved by keeping computer equipment off when not in use.

Some specific suggestions

• Unless you require immediate access to e-mail or other Internet services, break the habit of turning on all your computer equipment as soon as you enter the office each day.
• If practical, informally group your computer activities and try to do then during one or two parts of the day, leaving the computer off at other times.
• Avoid using the switch on a powerstrip to turn on all your equipment.
• If you use a laser printer, don’t turn your printer on until you are ready to print.
• 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 office for a meeting or an errand.
• For “computer servers” which must be on to serve network functions, explore ways to turn servers off at night.
• If monitors are not needed for “servers” to operate, keep server monitors off. If server monitor is needed during the day, at least turn it off at night and weekends.

While the energy saving suggestions listed above are appropriate for many campus PC users, some of the suggestions may 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 can be taken without harming productivity.

Our energy conservation program will not work without your help. Be an energy educator and gently remind your co-workers and colleagues to save energy by changing their computer habits. Circulate this booklet among the members in your office or department. Gain the support of your supervisor and set up a brief meeting to discuss how to implement energy saving strategies.

• Please report campus energy (and water) waste to 303-735-6202 or by e-mail.
• Visit Facilities Management’s Resource Conservation page for conservation tips and to check campus energy usage progress reports.

Other Green Computing Practices

You can take a giant step toward environmentally responsible or “green” computing by conserving energy with your computer. But green computing involves other important steps as well. These pertain to paper use, toner cartridges, disposal of old computer equipment and purchasing decisions when considering new computer equipment.

Reducing Paper Waste
Rather than creating a paperless office, computer use has vastly increased paper consumption and paper waste. Here are some suggestions for reducing waste:

• Print as little as possible. Review and modify documents on the screen and use print preview. Minimize the number of hard copies and paper drafts you make. Instead of printing, save information to disks.
• Recycle waste paper.
• Buy and use recycled paper in your printers and copiers. From an environmental point of view, the best recycled paper is 100 percent post consumer recycled content. For more information about obtaining recycled paper at CU, contact the CU Book Store 303-492-6411. For large orders, contact Distribution Services at 303-492-6524 or visit them online.
• Save e-mail whenever possible and avoid needless printing of e-mail messages.
• Use e-mail instead of faxes or send faxes directly from your computer to eliminate the need for a hard copy. When you must fax using hard copies, save paper using a “sticky” fax address note and not a cover sheet.
• On larger documents, use smaller font sizes (consistent with readability) to save paper.
• If your printer prints a test page whenever it is turned on, disable this unnecessary feature.
• Before recycling paper, which has print on only one side, set it aside for use as scrap paper or in printing drafts.
• When documents are printed or copied, use double-sided printing and copying. If possible, use the multiple pages per sheet option on printer properties.
• When general information-type documents must be shared within an office, try circulating them instead of making an individual copy for each person. This can also be done easily by e-mail.

Reusing and recycling
CU generates thousands of spent printer toner and ink jet cartridges and batteries a year. Instead of tossing these in the garbage, they can be recycled, saving resources and reducing pollution and solid waste. To recycle spent toner or ink jet cartridges (printer and some fax), deposit them at any of the five campus Copy Centers. To recycle batteries, drop them off at any of the battery collection bins around campus. For specific locations call the Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Hazardous Material group at 303-492-7845.

Computer diskettes may be inexpensive, but why keep buying more? Diskettes with outdated information on them can be reformatted and reused. When you are done with your diskettes, utilize CU Recycling’s new mail back program. Put no more than 10 and no fewer than five rubberband-tied diskettes into an interdepartmental envelope and mail to Campus Box 209, attn: diskettes for recycling. Special collections for larger amounts can be arranged by calling 303-492-8307.

Members of the University community realize that recycling old electronics equipment is the “right thing” to do and have made a commitment to recycle old equipment rather than landfill it. When landfilled, computer equipment leaches lead and other heavy metals into ground water and the soil.

For University of Colorado at Boulder campus departments, it is important to remember that not only is disposing of electronics (by just throwing them away) unwise from an environmental point of view, it is also contrary to policy and procedure as well as being illegal! All Boulder campus departments are required to process unwanted properties (up to and including unusable electronics) as stated in the Property Accounting System Guidelines and Procedures Manual.

Property Services has the responsibility of providing for the removal and final disposal of these items, working or not. This is accomplished through the Surplus Property Program (which serves to relocate usable/needed items to other departments and agencies), Periodic Property Auctions (where functional items are sold to the public) or by the last resort of processing through an agency certified to process/ recycle the hazardous components found in defunct electronics. You can contact Property Services by calling 303-492-6524 or by visiting them online.

For private disposal of unwanted electronics, individuals can donate used working electronics though the Colorado Materials Exchange (COMEx). COMEx maintains an on-line bulletin board where private individuals and industry groups can create exchange possibilities that reduce waste while providing for reuse of functional equipment.

Visit the COMEx Web site here. Additionally, for working and non-working electronics, Eco-Cycle’s Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM) is a good choice and will provide for the proper disposition of these types of materials. Additional information and pricing can be found online.

Improper disposal of computers and electronics is illegal. Contact Property Services at 303-492-6524 or by visiting them online for proper procedures.

Purchasing recommendations
Environmentally responsible computer use implies not buying new equipment unless there is a demonstrated need. Thus, before buying new equipment, consider the following questions:

• Do you really need a new computer or printer?
• Can you meet your needs (with less expense and environmental damage) by upgrading existing equipment?
• Can you find a solution in software rather than hardware?

If you do need new equipment, buy efficient and buy green. Do research online and talk to the Buffalo Chip in the UMC about purchasing environmental and socially responsible equipment.

• Buy only “Energy Star” computers, monitors and printers. Flat panel monitors use about half of the electricity of a cathode-ray tube (CRT) display.
• Buy a monitor only as large as you really need. A 17-inch CRT monitor uses 30 percent more energy than a 15-inch one when each is in an active mode.
• Buy ink jet printers, not laser printers. These use 80 to 90 percent less energy than laser printers and print quality can be excellent.
• Network and share printers.
• Once they are available, consider buying “Green Computers.” Several computer equipment manufacturers are currently developing PCs which are not only highly energy efficient but are also manufactured in a resource efficient and less polluting manner and are designed and built for eventual recycling.
• Consider leasing equipment as an alternative to purchasing. Leased equipment is typically refurbished or recycled, and packaging is reduced. For leasing options contact Kerry Boyle at the Procurement Service Center by e-mailing or call 303-724-0669.

Campus Environmental Policies

In 2002 the Vice Chancellor for Administration adopted a campus policy to reduce energy use per square foot of campus building, with a goal of stabilizing or reducing total energy consumption and emissions. One of the key actionable measures is enabling desktop power management features.

The campus energy strategy map outlines steps that need to be taken to conserve energy on campus. One of these steps is to incorporate operational efficiencies in equipment purchases. Facilities Management’s Resource Conservation page to see the strategy map.

This guide is consistent with Information Technology Services “Energy Saving Guidelines for PCs.”