IT energy management

{{main|Data center environmental control}}

Servers and data centers account for 23% of IT energy demand. As hardware becomes smaller and less expensive, energy costs constitute a larger portion of server or data center costs.{{cite news|title = Power Provisioning for a Warehouse-sized Computer|journal = Proceedings of the ACM International Symposium on Computer Architecture, San Diego, CA|date = June 2007|url = http://www.seamicro.com/sites/default/files/Power%20Provisioning%20for%20a%20Warehouse-sized%20Computer.pdf|access-date = 2010-09-15|archive-date = 2017-08-12|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170812134536/http://seamicro.com/sites/default/files/Power%20Provisioning%20for%20a%20Warehouse-sized%20Computer.pdf|url-status = dead}}

These allow gains to be made through optimisation of servers. This is typically done by doing diagnostic tests on individual servers and developing a model for a data center's energy demand using these measurements. By analysing every server in a data centre, server power management software can identify servers that can be removed. It also enables servers to be virtualized, processes to be consolidated to a smaller number of servers, and servers with a predictable cyclical power demand to be fully powered down when not in use. Active power management features are also included which put remaining servers into their lowest power state that allows instant wake-up on demand when required.

Energy efficiency benchmarks, such as SPECpower, or specifications, like Average CPU power, can be used for comparing server efficiency and performance per watt.

A research study shows that in the US, 50% of PCs are left on overnight, resulting in an estimated annual energy waste of 28.8 billion kWh, and a cost of $2.8 billion per year. User behaviour is slightly different in Europe, with approximately 28% of PCs being left on overnight in the UK, resulting in an estimated energy loss of 2.5 billion kWh, costing £300 million per year. In Germany, with approximately 30% of PCs left on overnight, it is estimated 4.8 billion kWh of energy are wasted each year, costing €919 million{{citation |title=PC Energy Report 2009, United States, United Kingdom, Germany |publisher=Alliance to Save Energy & 1E |date=March 2009 |url=http://www.climatesaverscomputing.org/docs/1E_PC_Energy_Report_2009_US.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224153324/http://www.climatesaverscomputing.org/docs/1E_PC_Energy_Report_2009_US.pdf |archive-date=2012-02-24}} There is a significant market in third-party Power Management Software offering features beyond those present in the Windows operating system.{{cite web|url=http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/buyers-guide/Power-Management-Software-for-Windows-Workstations-Buyers-Guide.aspx|title=Power Management Software for Windows Workstations|access-date=2012-12-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205111923/http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/buyers-guide/Power-Management-Software-for-Windows-Workstations-Buyers-Guide.aspx|archive-date=2010-12-05|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=power_mgt.pr_power_mgt_comm_packages|title=Energy Star Commercial Packages List|access-date=2012-12-09|archive-date=2008-11-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081102002142/http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=power_mgt.pr_power_mgt_comm_packages|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.hmcsustainability.org.uk/energy.html|author=The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference|title=HMC: A Practical Guide to Sustainable Building for Schools|access-date=2012-12-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315230900/http://www.hmcsustainability.org.uk/energy.html|archive-date=2012-03-15|url-status=dead}}

Most products offer Active Directory integration and per-user/per-machine settings with the more advanced offering multiple power plans, scheduled power plans, anti-insomnia features and enterprise power usage reporting.

{{main|Energy-Efficient Ethernet}}

Energy-Efficient Ethernet (IEEE 802.3az) could reduce the energy use of networking equipment. In 2005, all the network-interface controllers in the United States (in computers, switches, and routers) used an estimated 5.3 terawatt-hours of electricity.{{Cite web|url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/energyefficient-ethernet |title=IEEE Spectrum: Energy-Efficient Ethernet |date=May 2008 |publisher=IEEE |access-date=2010-02-11}} According to a researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Energy-Efficient Ethernet could save an estimated $450 million a year in energy costs in the U.S.{{Cite web |url=http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207601205 |title=Energy-efficient Ethernet standard gains traction |publisher=EETimes.com |access-date=2010-02-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929204456/http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207601205 |archive-date=2012-09-29 |url-status=dead }} With most of the savings from home computers ($200 million), and offices ($170 million), and the remaining $80 million from data centers. Energy-efficient Ethernet saves energy by allowing network links to either go into a low power sleep mode or run at a slower rate when there is no data. It also defines lower power signaling for use on higher quality cables.

There are a number of industry associations and policy organisations whose work on promoting energy-efficiency includes providing resources and information on IT energy management. These include:

• The Green Grid
• Alliance to Save Energy
• Climate Savers Computing Initiative
• 2Degrees (Low Carbon ITC Network)

• Data center infrastructure efficiency
• Energy-Efficient Ethernet
• Performance per watt
• Power usage effectiveness

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Category:Computers and the environment