Individuals and organizations can save money and help the environment by implementing green IT practices. A well-managed organization can save 43% on energy costs per year through power management practices like enabling sleep modes and turning off computers when not in use. Other ways to save include using more efficient monitors, printing practices, and online collaboration tools which reduce the need for travel. Small changes in individual behaviors can make a big collective impact on reducing energy use and environmental footprint.

1. Green IT: How Individuals Can Reduce Energy Costs & Protect the Envionment John Thompson, PhD Buffalo State College

2. Why Use Power Management? Save money. Gartner, Inc. - well-managed 2,500-PC organization uses 43% less power per year than unmanaged one - saving $43,300/year DOE – save $50/computer/year U.S. federal government has almost 7 million civilian employees – do the math. 2 Dr. John Thompson

3. Power Management Turn off computers & printers if not in use Search on “PC shutdown software” for solutions E.g., BigFix Power Management, Faronics Power Save & NightWatchman Use low power "sleep" mode Can still download & install updates & perform maintenance tasks Wake on LAN (WoL) When not in use, turn off the juice. Dr. John Thompson 3

4. Power Management Reduce time before entering sleep mode Disable screen saver Replace CRT monitor with an LCD monitor Dr. John Thompson 4

5. Power Management Turn off components at end of day Prevent “vampire power" or “phantom load” Connect system to a power strip & turn off strip after shutting down components Plug laptop’s AC adapter into power strip Use a smart power strip Dr. John Thompson 5

6. Printing Considerations Econo/ Draft mode Black & white Margins Font size E-mail or USB drive or cloud More than one page per sheet Edit on screen Recycle cartridges Internet Sites 6

7. Why Worry About Printing? Federal employees print 30 pages each work day 92% of employees print more than they need Workers discard 35%of the paper they print out Federal government spends nearly $1.3 billion annually on employee printing So federal government spends $440.4 million each year on unnecessary printing Source: http://www.governmentprintingreport.com/ Dr. John Thompson 7

8. More Printing Savings Use print preview and “shrink to fit” Only print the selection you need Switch to draft mode to increase printing speed Duplex printing (both sides) Use http://www.greenpdf.com/ Track your savings with GreenPrint Dr. John Thompson 8

9. Inkjet Printers Use 80-90% less energy than laser printers Example: HP 4V laser printer Printer power consumption HP 4V – 28-110 watts standby, 380 watts printing HP 4315 Officejet All-in-One – 18 watts maximum vs. Dr. John Thompson 9

10. Other Suggestions Purchase green – Design RFPs & purchasing practices favoring/requiring energy-efficient (Energy Star & Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool - EPEAT) technology Federal agencies required to purchase at least 95% of EPEAT registered products in all relevant electronic product categories Join ENERGY STAR Low Carbon IT Campaign Participate in Power IT Down Day in 2010 Dr. John Thompson 10

11. More Suggestions Change your subscriptions to online – not paper – use SnagIt or SnipIt type programs to grab/save info Optimize computer performance Decrease screen brightness Change from XP to Vista…to Windows 7? Use laptops instead of desktops Install energy monitoring software – e.g., Edison Have a professional energy assessment Dr. John Thompson 11

12. Online Increase use of the Internet and your Web site Put information on Web pages, wikis & blogs instead of making paper copies Online courses consume nearly 90% less energy & produce 85% fewer CO2 emissions – 2005 report Use less paper than traditional classroom Assign online texts or Internet sites Use course management systems Dr. John Thompson 12

13. Online Use desktop Web conferencing to reduce trips Ex. - WiZiQ, Dimdim, WebEx, Elluminate Outsource organization’s e-mail (e.g., Google Gmail) to the “cloud” Telecommute or use VPN connection Online subscriptions instead of print Dr. John Thompson 13

14. Planes vs. Volcano – April 2010 http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2010/planes-or-volcano/ Dr. John Thompson 14

15. Final Recommendations Pick all the low hanging fruit Small changes make big difference Dr. John Thompson 15

16. Final Recommendations Pick all the low hanging fruit Small changes make big difference Conduct energy assessment Set baseline…& measure, measure, measure Dr. John Thompson 16

17. Final Recommendations Pick all the low hanging fruit Small changes make big difference Conduct energy assessment Set baseline…& measure, measure, measure Save $$ while helping protect the environment and doing what’s right for society. Dr. John Thompson 17

18. Presenter John Thompson, PhD Associate Professor Computer Information Systems Department Chase 208 Buffalo State College 1300 Elmwood Avenue Buffalo, NY 14222 716.878.3531 thompsjt@buffalostate.edu Dr. John Thompson 18

19. Additional Resources “What ‘Being Green’ Means to the Bottom Line” Webinar Vampire Power: Real World Green video Explaining Green Computing video Lowering Computer Power Consumption video FAQ: Desktop virtualization article Remember… Charity may begin at home, but green computing begins at the desktop. Dr. John Thompson 19

20. Energy Calculators Carbon Footprint Calculator Nortel Energy Efficiency Calculator Personal Emissions Calculator Office Footprint Calculator CO2 Saver Forrester's online green IT baseline calculator SUNY Learning NetworkDistance Learning Calculator Dr. John Thompson 20