Dell Cuts Power Use by 48M KWH, Saves $5.8M

August 13, 2009

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Dell expects to save about $5.8 million a year as a result of energy-saving initiatives and building upgrades in its facilities worldwide. The computer maker expects to cuts its global power use by about 48 million kilowatt hours per year, which the company says is enough to power more than 4,000 average homes for one year.

Dell sources more than 25 percent of its global energy needs from renewable sources. As examples, Dell is powering 100 percent of its 2.1 million square-foot global headquarters campus with 100 percent green power, and its 240,000 square-foot Oklahoma City campus 100 percent with wind energy.

The company is also piloting several solar projects to incorporate more renewable energy in its operations. New solar projects include the installation of a covered parking lot with solar arrays at its Round Rock, Texas headquarter that will produce131,051 watts of solar power and reduce 221,000 lbs of GHG emissions each year, and a solar water heating project at its manufacturing site in Hortolandia, Brazil, which will save 76,000 KWh.

Dell expects to achieve the significant energy savings through a combination of power management and building upgrades. In the area of IT, Dell plans to install PC power-down software on 50,000 desktop and notebook computers, which is expected to yield about a 40 percent reduction in energy costs, or about $1.8 million per year. Other changes include simplifying IT via virtualization, server consolidation and improved hardware and data center design, which is expected to save enough electricity annually to power 2,000 homes for one year. It will also reduce CO2 emissions by 17,000 tons each year, according to Dell.

Building upgrades include the use of lower power and longer life lighting solutions, installation of solar window films, as well as improvements in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) such as the installation of variable frequency drives. Dell is also implementing building automation solutions that automatically turn off lighting and air condition systems, and fine tune settings on water heaters, air conditioner chillers and thermostats, which will deliver an energy savings of $1.5 million annually, according to the company.

Dell has also established sustainability design standards to be integrated into any future Dell-owned facility, which include mandates for site planning, water management, energy and atmosphere, materials and indoor air quality.

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