U.S. businesses are wasting $1.72 billion a year on PCs that are not shut down at night, according to a survey (PDF) released by 1E and the Alliance to Save Energy.
A mid-sized company, which includes about 10,000 PCs, wastes more than $165,000 a year in electricity costs for computers left on overnight.
According to Sumir Karayi, chief executive officer, 1E, it is evident from the findings of the report that worker apathy and insufficient business systems are part of the cause for wasting a tremendous amount of energy. Power savings of significant value can be achieved only when all the stakeholders involved are satisfied, namely PC users themselves, IT departments–who need to keep computers up-to-date– and finally those tasked with managing their organizations’ Corporate Social Responsibility credentials.
“Ideally, everyone would shut down their PCs at the end of the working day, but the research released shows that this just doesn’t happen,” he stated.
According to the report, some people assume their IT departments need their machines to be left on overnight in order to deploy security patches and software updates. Others believe an on-board “sleep” or hibernation mode kicks in–which isn’t usually the case. And, a number of respondents admitted that they just don’t care.
EBAY'S WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM PAYS FOR ITSELF
eBay saves water and energy with a program that'll achieve ROI within 18 months. How much could you save? Go to calculator>>
CLEAN ENERGY DOESN'T GET ANY COOLER THAN THIS
Hybrid Cooling Solutions from Ice Energy. There's no cooler way to improve your bottom line. Discover the power of Ice. >>
CUT ENERGY COSTS WITH VMWARE VIRTUALIZATION
Eliminate server sprawl, reduce costs and save energy with VMware Virtualization >>
FINALLY! NEXT-GENERATION CARBON MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE FOR BUSINESSES
Clear Standards environmental intelligence software helps businesses measure, analyze, and reduce their carbon footprint. No more spreadsheets! >>
It's a perfect storm for green communications. There are two industries traditionally considered first for the chop during an economic downturn: environment ... continue »
The "Energy Star" label is extremely or very important to 68 percent of consumers, according to the fourth EcoPinion Survey from ...
click to view full size chart »
A Telegraph Business Club Video MasterClass by Guy Beaudin the Head of Solutions for PC World Business on SMEs and the environment....
Comments
I wonder how much money would be lost due to security breeches, virus outbreaks, etc due to companies not being able to update their PCs during off hours? This is another case of wishful thinking. Perhaps it’s feasible for a small company (200 employees or less) but it is not at all realistic for a company of any size that is required by law to protect your personal information…
bob June 29th, 2007Bob, the point being made is that leaving systems on so you can update and patch, costs business money and has an environmental impact. Systems should be shut down after work, woken-up for patches and then shut down. This means systems are powered off for maybe 12 hours a days, and not on burning power. This is applicable to all larger organisations where the cost benefits are huge. See the Verizon announcement on this site. Powering off can save $ Millions and is the environmentally aware thing to do.
Chris April 10th, 2008