If you leave your car idling for longer than a few minutes, you’re wasting gas and money. Most of us know that, but there are other, not-so-apparent sources of energy waste. The computer screen you’re looking at right now is one of them.
“We all go to meetings during the day,” said Angie Earley, systems and network specialist for WSU Spokane’s Information Technology Department. “Some people leave their machines wide open, while others lock them down. But we never turn off our monitor during the day or shut down our computers. It’s just too much of a hassle.”
Earley, who joined WSU Spokane from Pullman in February, is in charge of a recent project initiated by the Information Technology Operations and Enterprise Services (OES) department that has brought WSU Spokane one step closer to sustainability: the purchase and installation of a PC power management solution called Surveyor by Seattle-based company Verdiem.
The software, which has been running on almost 700 Windows-based computers on campus since July, reduces PC energy consumption by automatically placing computers on lower power settings when they are idle. IT staff members have the ultimate control over the program, preventing it from interfering with individual productivity or off-hours computer maintenance.
Based on data collected during the first month’s use, Earley estimates the software will reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by more than 20 percent per computer.
“This is a good first step for WSU Spokane IT to assist our campus with incorporating environmental sustainability initiatives into our core business practices,” said Larry Hoffman, director of Information Technology OES at WSU Spokane.
The new software also will provide financial benefits for WSU Spokane. After the first year of initial setup and maintenance on 783 computers, Hoffman estimates the software will save more than $5,000 annually.
According to Hoffman, the project has been in the works for a while.
“We had considered doing this a couple of years ago, but chose to wait until we had the time and appropriate funding,” he said.
Funding fell into place through a business incentive program offered by Avista Utilities, which will reimburse WSU Spokane $10 for every computer running the Surveyor software. This covers two-thirds of the purchase cost for each license.
“This is a win-win situation for energy savings, WSU, state taxpayers and the environment,” Hoffman said.
