Windows Vista Energy Conservation
We are very green friendly in our office here and we are always looking at better ways to conserve energy and better manage the environment. Since almost everyone has a PC, we can all help out with a few little steps.
Today we will look at some options for Windows Vista energy conservation - Remember, by being more efficient and using less energy, this not only benefits the environment, but it also ends up costing you less.
The Windows Vista OS does feature significant changes to its power management infrastructure, functionality and default settings. All of these changes affect how Vista PCs consume energy. Here is some further info on the potential energy savings available when using Windows Vista and the changes from XP.
PC Power Consumption
Here are some numbers on PC power consumption and the type of savings that can be made by using sleep vs idle modes.
Common power usage output for Desktop PCs (watts):
|
Idle |
Sleep |
Savings |
Mean of LBNL-measured Pentium 4 machines |
67.3 |
3.3 |
64.0 |
Mean of 17-inch CRT monitors |
61.2 |
1.8 |
59.4 |
Mean of 17-inch LCD monitors |
35.3 |
2.3 |
33.0 |
Calculating power savings:
In projecing the potential savings, a PC left on constantly was compared with a PC put in sleep mode during non-use hours. The non-use hours are calculated at approximately 14 hours per day. So if we also factor in weekends, the approximate non-user hours for the year is: 6,160 hours.
To calculate the saved poser, we use (idle power - sleep power) x 6160 hours = annual savings.
In the table below you can see the savings (kWh):
|
Power draw per |
Power draw per year (Sleep) |
Savings per year |
Typical P4 machine with 17-inch CRT |
791.56 |
31.42 |
760.14 |
Typical P4 machine with 17-inch LCD |
632.02 |
34.50 |
597.52 |
Financial Benefits
As you can see above, a considerable amount of kWh hours can be saved by using the Vista power functions. To put this into a financial value see the formula below (this is assuming an average cost per kWh of $0.094):
760.14 x 0.094 = $71.45
So there is an annual saving of $71.45 for just a single PC by employing the Vista energy saving features. If this is applied to every PC using Vista, the saving is absolutely enormous, especially for large corporations.
Environmental Benefit
Obviously as more energy is consumed this adds to increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. According to the EPA, generating 1kWh of power in the USA results in 1.55 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions. So a saving of 760 kWh for a single PC results in a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions of 1,178 lbs.
This is quite a significant saving and again, when implemented on every PC running Vista, there is a massive reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
So if you are using Windows Vista, start using the power saving features. Not only will you save on costs, but you will be benefitting the environment.
-----------------------
Fix Windows Vista - Free Scan
