Green IT : Save Costs During the Slowdown and Beyond

• Implement server virtualization to improve server utilization.
• When replacing any equipment in the data center, look for energy
  
  efficient options.
• Enforce energy conservation and power management policies
• Replace all CRT monitors with LCD monitors to really save a lot of
  
  power.
• Explore the usage of renewable energy sources like solar power, wind
  
  power, etc.
• Focus on improving the cooling of your IT infrastructure to save
  
  energy bills.

PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) and DCIE (Data Center infrastructure

Efficiency) are commonly cited industry metrics created by a non profit

organization Green Grid, for determining efficiency of Data Centers. PUE is

defined by ratio of total facility power and IT equipment power while its

reciprocal DCIE is determined as the ratio of Power consumed by IT equipment

and total facility power. Here Greed grid identifies "Total Facility Power"

as power dedicated solely to the data

 center. While IT equipment Power means power consumed by the IT

equipment used for managing, processing, etc inside the computing space. To

calculate PUE or DCIE of your data center, measure power consumption from

that point which powers your entire data center. Next step is to measure

your IT equipment power, this should be measured at the output which

delivers power to your server racks. To know get more details on this

process visit



www.thegreengrid.org.

Building/Process Energy Use

• Reduce energy use by purchasing personal computers and other
  
  electrical devices bearing the Energy Star certification label from the US
  
  Department of Energy, which is granted to energy-efficient items. See
  
  http://www.energystar.gov.
• Activate the power management feature on computers. If all computers
  
  in the US used this feature, this would cause CO2 reduction equivalent to
  
  removing 1.5 million cars from the road. Plug multiple computer devices
  
  into a power strip and shut off the strip at the end of the day. Electric
  
  adapters for computers, printers and other devices use energy even when
  
  they're turned off.
• Replace low output (60 to 100 W) incandescent bulbs with compact
  
  fluorescent bulbs. CFLs last 10 times longer and use 50 to 80 percent less
  
  energy.
• Replace high output (100 to 150 W) incandescent bulbs with halogen
  
  bulbs. Replace incandescent bulbs in exit signs with LED bulbs.
• Seal air leaks around doors, windows, electrical outlets and other
  
  wall openings. Enhance insulation in ceilings, walls and floors as
  
  appropriate. Install windows with better insulating properties.
• To reduce electrical demands for air conditioning, control the heat
  
  from natural lighting by shades, awnings or glass film. Plant trees or
  
  vined trellises to provide natural shading during warm weather.
• Adopt an internal policy that encourages employees to turn off lights,
  
  computers, and other equipment at the end of the workday and otherwise
  
  when not likely to be in use. Apply “switch-me-off” stickers as reminders.
  
  Install timers and motion sensor light switches where practical. Use task
  
  lighting to illuminate only those areas where light is required.
• Alter the settings on the thermostat to reduce the use of heating and
  
  air conditioning equipment. Conduct and implement an energy-saving audit
  
  of the office. Some electrical utility companies will do this for free or
  
  at a very modest cost for their customers. Do a free self-assessment using
  
  the Business Energy Analyzer at www.energyguide.com. See the ABA-EPA Law
  
  Office Guide to Energy Efficiency at www.abanet.org/environ/
  
  climatechallenge/lawofficeguide.pdf for other practical measures that can
  
  be taken to cut energy use in an office.

Employee Travel

• Subsidize or otherwise encourage employee use of car pooling,
  
  energy-efficient vehicles, car-sharing programs (e.g., FlexCar, I-Go,
  
  Zipcar), mass transit vehicles or bikes, or take other measures to reduce
  
  the energy consumed by employees while commuting.
• Provide flexible work arrangements, such as early or late hours,
  
  compressed work week, telecommuting or other practices to eliminate or
  
  reduce employee commuting time.
• Adopt guidelines on use of web, telephone and/or video-conferencing
  
  and other means to avoid unnecessary travel.

Product Deliveries

• Arrange with suppliers to reduce the frequency of deliveries to the
  
  extent practicable.
• Use special routing software or other tools and load consolidation to
  
  improve the energy efficiency of product
  
  
  
  delivery to customers.
• Reduce and reuse packaging. Reduce the amount of packaging used for
  
  product deliveries to the minimum needed to protect products from damage.
  
  Use durable reusable shipping containers. Shred or consume used paper for
  
  shipping containers.

Paper Use

• Increase the recycled post-consumer-waste (PCW) content of your office
  
  paper.
• Recycle discarded mixed office paper and corrugated materials.
• Institute double-sided copying at least for internal documents.
• Use printers with an automatic duplex option, if possible. Narrow the
  
  margins on documents to conserve paper.