Energy Savings Initiative for Computers
ACNS - February 2002
Background: In November 2001, ACNS presented a plan to the UITSS committee for configuring
computer systems and monitors to save energy. IT staff were directed to a web site
(www.colostate.edu/Services/acns/energysavings.html) prepared by ACNS for detailed instructions on
activating energy savings settings on the various operating systems in use on campus. IT staff were asked
to a) review all hardware in their units, b) to configure energy savings settings where possible and c) to
report their results by January 2002.
All representatives who were asked to complete the reporting form did so, and the results that follow
reflect responses from 37 IT staff who oversee the computing in their respective colleges or departments.
Results: Reporting was done for three categories of hardware: student lab computers, faculty/staff
workstations and “other” computers. For each of the three categories, results show the number of
monitors configured (power saver mode when not being used) and the number of systems configured
(system hibernation including CPU and hard disk sleep) to save energy.
Table 1 below and the graphs on page 3 show the results of activating energy savings settings as reported
by the IT staff. A total of 9,175 computers were included in the report. Not all computer equipment was
included in this exercise:
 Results do not include 3000+ student personal computers in the residence halls.
 Most modern printers automatically go into power-savings mode after a period of inactivity, thus
were not included in this initiative.
 Network devices such as routers and switches were not included.
Table 1 Results of Energy Savings for Monitor and Systems
Total
Set Before*
Set Now
% Increase
2,468
Lab
Monitors
1,163
1,608
27.67
Systems
449
967
53.57
5,956
Faculty/Staff
Monitors
3,257
4,523
27.99
Systems
2,331
3,264
28.58
751
Other
Monitors
558
589
5.26
Systems
331
343
3.50
Total
9,175
Monitors
4,978
6,720
25.92
Systems
3,111
4,574
31.99
*Some departments had energy savings activated prior to this initiative.
% of Total
73.24
49.85
Of the 9,172 computer systems reported on, 73% of monitors and 50% of systems now have Energy-Star
features activated. This reflects a 26% increase in the number of monitors configured for energy savings
and a 32% increase in the number of systems. Monitors typically are set to go into energy saving mode
after 20 minutes of inactivity. Systems typically are set to go to sleep or hibernate mode after a period of
inactivity (average settings are hard drive, 30 minutes; CPU, 80 minutes; system hibernate, 90 minutes).
It is not practical to assume that 100% of devices could be configured. Older hardware devices do not
have Energy-Star compliant features and there is no non-intrusive way to activate Energy-Star for
computers running the Windows NT operating system. Comments on the reporting form indicated that at
least 1,300 devices fall into these groups. Comments also reflect that at least 40 systems are servers, data
collection devices and other production systems that would suffer adverse effects if put into sleep mode.
Page 1 of 3
Other comments provided in reports include:
 Significant use of new low-power consumption flat-panel displays.
 Reports of systems not set for energy savings because of the personal preferences or work habits
of the users involved. IT staff noted they are encouraging those users to power off their
computers and monitors at night and particularly for weekends and extended leave times.
 A number of PC’s do not support Energy-Star settings. Comments indicate that IT staff observe
that users typically power down monitors at night and for extended leaves.
 Generally positive reaction from both UITSS representatives and their users on the energy
savings initiative.
 Some other IT staff felt the cost/time involved in checking hundreds of PC’s for energy savings
was not worth the energy savings.
Savings: Calculations by ACNS indicate that a savings of $7 per computer system (including the monitor
and all other hardware) can be realized on a recurring, annual basis after energy saving settings are
applied. ACNS estimates that 60% of the $7 savings can be attributed to energy settings applied to
monitors, while 40% can be attributed to the rest of the system. The following calculations show the
increased dollar savings as a direct result of the energy savings initiative, as well as the aggregate annual
dollar savings realized for all computers at CSU.
Incremental savings due to present effort = $11,412.80
Monitors - $7,316.40
Monitors: 1742 more monitors are saving energy now
Monitor multiplier = 60% or .6
Annual savings per computer = $7
Increase in savings (monitors) = 1742 * .6 * $7 = $7,316.40
Systems = $4,096.40
Systems: 1463 more systems are saving energy now
System multiplier = 40% or .4
Annual savings per computer = $7
Increase in savings (systems) = 1463 * .4 * $7 = $4,096.40
From the energy savings survey results, the total number of monitors currently utilizing energy saving
features is 6,720, while the total number of systems utilizing energy saving features is 4,574. Including all
systems energy savings, both those configured prior to this initiative and those configured and a result of
this initiative:
Savings over all systems = $41,031.20
Total savings (monitors) = 6,720 * .6 * $7 = $28,224.00
Total savings (systems) = 4,574 * .4 * $7 = $12,807.20
Summary: The report shows that a significant number of monitors and systems had Energy-Star settings
activated prior to the Green is Gold campaign. Posting the directions on the Web for configuring the
settings had an impact on increasing the participation another 25-30% and should be continued. ACNS
will make the Energy-Star instructions part of the on-going standards review and will update the
instructions as new operating systems come on-line. For example, the University has a significant number
of Windows NT workstations that cannot now easily be configured. As those computers are upgraded to
Windows XP, they will be able to take advantage of Energy-Star features.
The Green is Gold campaign likely had a longer term impact on institutionalizing the importance of using
the Energy-Star technology.
Page 2 of 3
Categorized Energy Savings Results (Before/After)
5000
4500
Number of components
4000
3500
3000
Before
2500
After
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Lab Monitors
Lab Systems
Faculty/Staff
Monitors
Faculty/Staff
Systems
Other
Monitors
Other
Systems
Category & Component
Energy Savings Aggregate Results
8000
6720
Number set (out of 9175 computers)
7000
6000
4978
5000
4574
Before
4000
3111
3000
2000
1000
0
Aggregate Monitors
Aggregate Systems
C ompone nt
Page 3 of 3
After