Apr 16 2008
The Software Association of Oregon (SAO) and the Oregon-based Climate Savers Computing Initiative today announced a collaboration to spur energy-efficient computing in Oregon. The two organizations will work together to promote the development and use of power management software, and to encourage the adoption of more energy-efficient computers and servers across Oregon's software industry.
“The Software Association of Oregon is committed to reducing the energy consumption of information technology, both through our actions, as well as driving awareness and development of energy-efficient technologies among our more than 450 members in Oregon,” said Bryce Yonker, Director of Membership and the CleanTech Forum at the Software Association of Oregon. “By working with the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, the SAO is helping lead its membership in the movement toward a more clean and sustainable Oregon.”
“By teaming with the Software Association of Oregon, we hope to boost awareness and foster innovations in energy efficient technology in Oregon,” said Lorie Wigle, Intel’s representative on the Climate Savers Computing Initiative board of directors. “With the efforts of the SAO and other likeminded organizations, we can reduce the energy consumption of computers by 50 percent by 2010.”
As a member of the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, the SAO is committed to reducing energy consumption from a majority of its computing equipment by:
- Pledging to purchase high-efficiency computer equipment;
- Optimizing existing computer systems to use power management capabilities, such as hibernation and sleep modes; and
- Ensuring in subsequent years they purchase computing equipment with increasing levels of efficiency.
The SAO and the Climate Savers Computing Initiative will also work together to recruit SAO members to participate in the Initiative, and encourage the development of new and innovation software for managing PC and server power settings. Although most computers are capable of automatically transitioning to a sleep or hibernate state when inactive, about 90 percent of desktop PCs have this functionality disabled.
Additionally, in a typical desktop PC, nearly half the power coming from the outlet never reaches the processor, memory, disks or any other computing components. The wasted electricity is dispersed as heat and increases the cost of powering a computer, as well as the emission of greenhouse gases. In offices, homes and data centers, the added heat from inefficient computers can increase the demand on air conditioners and cooling systems, making the computing equipment even more expensive to run. Servers are more efficient than desktops, but still typically waste 30 to 40 percent of the input power.