Cutting Hidden Costs of PCs
You wouldn’t leave your television on all day while you are at the office, and yet, across the country, millions of work PCs are left on all night — wasting energy, costing owners millions in utility costs and contributing to global climate change.
No company likes to waste money. On the surface, the financial impact of 24-hour computer power consumption may seem insignificant compared to traditional concerns such as payroll, supply and rent — but the waste is actually substantial.
• Energy costs — typically 10% of the corporate technology budget — could rise to as much as 50% in the next few years.
• Power management software can reduce a PC’s power consumption by 80%, allowing companies to save between $25-$75 per desktop PC. Beyond automated “shut down,” power savings are derived during the day by automating monitor shut-down after a period of inactivity.
• At 8.68 cents per kWh, a typical PC left on overnight wastes $55.13 a year. That’s more than $165,000 for a 10,000-PC enterprise that leaves 60% of its machines on, and $1.72 billion for the 60% of work computers that may be running across the country each night unnecessarily.
• Turning off PCs, with their heat-intensive power supplies, will also reduce the load on air conditioning equipment, leading to even more energy savings.
Of course, there is no such thing as a “typical” company. Utility rates, work hours, equipment types, makes and models and use patterns all vary from one workplace to another.
Photo by MSDesigns.
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