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Energy-Saving “Power Naps”

Naps are good for your computer and good for saving on energy costs, too!

A pilot program to test power management software confirmed that giving computers “power naps” reduces energy use by about 50 percent. The study was conducted on a Marysville test group of about 400 PCs and laptops by the District 3 Information Technology (IT) team.

According to an article in SMUD’s Key Accounts February 2008 newsletter:

Photo by Jon Hirtz, HQ Steve Prey evaluated the IT project results.

Steve Prey, program coordinator for the Caltrans Energy Conservation Program, was responsible for evaluating the project.

First, the Caltrans IT team established a baseline of normal CPU [central processing unit] usage. Then the management software’s auto sleep mode and shut-down protocols were deployed on the selected computers. Care was taken to avoid servers or computers running unique applications.

Photo by Farrell Savage, District 3 IT Monte Ann Mettz and Pat Dilling are part of the District 3 IT team.

After a period of six months, Prey and the IT project team evaluated the document tracking reports and concluded that the energy saving software aced the test. It had reduced average energy consumption by 50 percent and CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions by 86,000 lbs.

The software would help Caltrans lower PC energy consumption, reduce some PC energy use during peak demand periods, and reduce facility cooling costs, all without affecting user productivity.

Statewide Rollout

Caltrans is now working on a plan to roll out a statewide power management program to a minimum of 8,100 PCs [and] up to an eventual 18,000 systems.

Photo by Ed Andersen, HQ Grande Rudulph, one of District 3’s IT team who worked on the pilot program, now works in headquarters IT.

Prey estimates a two-year return on investment, $450,000 in energy savings, and a reduction of 4 million lbs. in CO2 emissions annually. That’s equivalent to the emissions from 469 cars.

Congratulations to Steve Prey and the District 3 IT project team!

Note: Project costs, savings and deployment schedules are subject to change pending Feasibility Study Report (FSR) approval.

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