An Energy Diet for Power-Hungry Household PCs

August 6, 2008

By STEVE LOHR


In its drive to go green, the technology industry has so far focused mainly on big targets like corporations and especially computer data centers, the power-hungry computing engine rooms of the Internet economy.

Next come the hundreds of millions of desktop and laptop personal computers in households worldwide.

Microsoft, the nonprofit Climate Savers Computing Initiative and a start-up called Verdiem are combining to put a spotlight on the energy-saving opportunity in PCs, and distributing a free software tool to consumers to help them do it.

The potential savings in both dollars and pollution is huge, analysts say, when the estimated one billion PCs in use globally are taken into account. The research firm Gartner estimates that 40 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions resulting from information technology and telecommunications are attributable to PCs. Data center computers account for 23 percent, and the rest is attributable to printers and telecommunications equipment.

“If you are going to tackle climate change and curb energy use, you have to deal with consumer devices like PCs,” said Andrew Fanara, a product development expert in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program, which promotes energy-efficient products and practices.

For more than a decade, the federal Energy Star program has developed voluntary power-management standards for PCs, and suppliers like Intel and Microsoft have steadily improved the energy efficiency of their chips and software. But Mr. Fanara estimated that less than half of PCs met those standards, in part because more energy-efficient hardware adds slightly to production costs.

“There are large potential savings beyond what Energy Star can do,” he said.
The free software, called Edison, is a consumer version of the PC energy-saving software sold to corporate customers by Verdiem, which is financed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a leading venture capital firm and an aggressive investor in green technologies, and other venture investors.

Verdiem, based in Seattle, has 180 corporate and government customers, including Hewlett-Packard, which bundles Verdiem’s Surveyor program on its desktop PCs sold to corporations. Though he will not disclose sales figures, the company’s chief executive, Kevin Klustner, says revenue should triple this year.

There are other free tools for calculating and managing PC power consumption, including the E.P.A.’s EZ Wizard, CO2 Saver and a Google energy-saving gadget. But Edison allows the user more flexibility, especially in making the settings as stringent as they want, analysts say.
If a user sets the software to put the machine in a “deep sleep” mode after a few minutes of not hitting a keystroke, the hard drive powers down and the PC sips just 5 percent of its normal energy consumption.

That kind of energy diet is far from standard practice in homes and offices. Half of all electricity consumed by a standard PC is wasted, according to environmental and industry studies.
Household electricity bills could also be trimmed by $20 to $95 a year for each PC, depending on local power costs and the kind of PCs in use, said Mr. Klustner. “What we’re trying to do is raise the visibility of the power consumption problem on the PC desktop and really bring power management to the masses,” he said.

The Climate Savers group, which includes major technology companies and environmental groups, has set a goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from computers by 54 million tons by 2010. That is the equivalent of the yearly pollution from 11 million cars. The goal includes data center computers and PCs, and about half of all PCs are consumer machines.
“This kind of energy-saving technology for consumers is a key ingredient in moving toward that goal,” said Rob Bernard, chief environmental strategist for Microsoft.

The companies said that the Edison software would be available to download on Wednesday from the Web sites of Verdiem (verdiem.com), Microsoft (microsoft.com/environment), and Climate Savers (climatesaverscomputing.org).

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/technology/06green.html?ex=1375761600&en=59bbbb2c61efa22a&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

PC Owners Urged to Manage Power Use and Save Money

James Niccolai, IDG News Service
Thursday, July 31, 2008 7:20 PM PDT

Businesses and home users can help the environment and save money at the same time by making better use of basic tools for desktop PC power management.



It's a simple message but one that's sometimes hard to get across, especially to home users who don't realize how much electricity their computers waste if they don't take steps to manage consumption, said Mark Bramfitt, head of the consumer energy efficiency group at Pacific Gas & Electric, a California utility.

Power management tools ship with virtually all computers these days but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reckons that most home users turn them off within a few months of buying a PC, Bramfitt said.





"There's a tremendous opportunity for energy efficiency and environmental improvements, but influencing individual PC users is a very difficult thing to do," he said at an energy efficiency seminar arranged by the Business Council on Climate Change.

The management tools can yield annual energy savings of $25 to $30 per desktop computer, according to Bramfitt. For big companies that operate thousands of PCs that quickly adds up to a lot of money.

The tools allow the computer to turn off the processor and hard drive after they have been idle for, say, 15 minutes, and put the whole computer into standby after 30 minutes. That reduces the energy consumed by a PC from roughly 100 watts to 40 watts with the power tools enabled, Bramfitt said.

To enforce power management, companies can use network-based tools that allow the settings on a PC to be controlled centrally. PG&E and other utilities give rebates to companies that use these tools because it helps them to avoid having to construct new power plants.

The tools, from companies like Faronics, Scriplogic and Veridiem, range in price from $15 to $20 per computer, said Alena Gilchrist [cq], a senior project manager with the City of San Francisco's SF Environment group. PG&E will subsidize the cost to the tune of $15 per PC for businesses, and the City of San Francisco gives slightly more.

PC makers could do more to help. Around half of the energy PCs consume is sucked up by inefficient power supplies, Bramfitt said. More efficient supplies are available but cost about $20, compared to $5 for the cheap ones, so PC makers don't use them.

Much of the wasted energy pours out as heat, which adds to air conditioning bills. "The PC that sits under your desk at home or in the office kinda looks like a toaster to PG&E," he said. "Half the energy that goes into it comes out as heat."

The PC vendors are taking some steps. Many of them last year joined the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, which aims to cut power consumption by computers in half by 2010, in part by using 90 percent efficient power supplies.

There are also free tools for optimizing PC power settings, including LocalCooling from Uniblue Research Labs.

Tom Block, president of the green-focussed computer reseller Block Data Systems, said his company builds "mobile on desktop" computers for companies to reduce their energy use. They are small form-factor PCs built from the more energy efficient components designed for laptop computers.

His other tips for cutting PC energy use:

• enable power management and hibernation features,
• turn PCs off when they are not in use,
• and replace CRT monitors with LCDs.
  

Almost all of California's utilities offer rebates for using energy-saving IT products, and about 30 utilities nationwide have joined Bramfitt's coalition to promote their use. PG&E has been the most aggressive in offering rebates, in part because it is home to so many giant technology companies and data centers.

"I've seen a statistic that one-fifth of the Internet traffic in the world passes through Silicon Valley, and that's why we have the issues we have," he said.

Cutting energy use in PCs only becomes more urgent as their use becomes more widespread.

"We've got around a billion people in the world using PCs right now," Bramfitt said. "If we get the other four to five billion hooked up then we'll really have an issue on our hands."

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/149243/pc_owners_urged_to_manage_power_use_and_save_money.html

Cloudworks Offers Cloud Computing Tips for Going Green

Solutions for a Tight Economy

By: Cloud Computing News Desk
Jul. 31, 2008 04:15 PM
Digg This!

Mike Eaton, the founder and CEO of Cloudworks, provides five tips for companies watching their bottom line in a tight economy to enhance the remote access for mobile professionals through cloud computing. Small to mid-size businesses watching their bottom line in a tight economy can enhance the remote access for mobile professionals and still save money over traditional IT solutions, according to Eaton. The key is cloud computing, which gives businesses the ability to outsource the entire desktop computing experience for their employees.

Files and software can now be accessed through any computer with Internet access, completely replicating the employee's desktop.

"The model for delivering IT services for small to mid-size businesses is evolving," Eaton said. "The improvements are dramatic, and there is no need to sacrifice quality to cut costs. Through cloud computing, companies can quickly increase their current IT capabilities, feel good about using greener, more environmentally friendly technology and cut costs substantially."

Eaton offers the following tips for companies with mobile professionals:

1. Feel free to buy the smallest, coolest looking laptops, regardless of computing power. In fact, cloud computing means you can lighten your load and forgo the traveling businessman's staple laptop completely. Laptops are always a year behind desktops in computing power but that no longer matters. You can log in to your desktop from any machine, anywhere and tap into the computing horsepower of the cloud.

2. Don't be afraid to outsource your server. That server you saved a bundle on may be close at hand -- in the next room or even just a few feet from your desk -- but proximity doesn't always mean peace of mind. Cloud computing takes the worry out of server management by putting the task in the hands of experts who safely oversee your files and software, assuring your network is up and running with the latest patches and other enhancements always installed.

3. Stop fretting about security. Security can be configured with varying degrees of protection depending on your needs. Data hosting in multiple data centers -- and standard and custom disaster recovery services -- are available for businesses that need extra protection. Through economies of scale, cloud computing offers more powerful security programs and devices than the typical small to mid-size business could afford.

4. You bought a bamboo floor for the conference room. Now, carry that green theme into your IT department by consuming less power and using less equipment. Cloud computing is one of the greenest technologies available and is considerably more efficient than the solutions it replaces, saving businesses 30 to 50 percent over traditional IT offerings.

5. Improve performance with pain-free remote software and hardware upgrades. Forget about having to manually install the latest Microsoft plugin on all of the computers in your network just so you can read documents written in the most recent version of Word. With cloud computing, you will always have current applications with all applicable plugins running on remote servers equipped to get the best performance possible out of the software packages.

"Businesses that use cloud computing don't have to know or care about whether their version of Windows is updated with the latest service pack. They don't need to know the code name for Apple's next operating system or any other inside industry information that doesn't have anything to do with their core business," Eaton said. "Companies want their information technology to do what they need it to do, reliably and affordably."

Published Jul. 31, 2008— Reads 767 Copyright © 2008 SYS-CON Media. All Rights Reserved.

About Cloud Computing News Desk

Cloud Computing News Desk brings the latest industry news related to the Cloud paradigm of massively scalable IT resources and capabilities delivered as a service using Internet technologies.
http://www.sys-con.com/node/607997

Earth-Friendly Computing: Case Study

Rockhurst University Implements Earth-Friendly Computing

Kansas City, Missouri. Rockhurst University is taking a giant leap to reduce its environmental impact through earth-friendly computer labs. When classes resume this fall, Rockhurst students will sit down in front of workstations that use 90 percent less energy than traditional PCs. Traditional CPUs are replaced with devices called thin clients, which are slightly larger than VHS tapes.

The technology, called thin-client computing, not only requires less energy to run, but the smaller equipment requires significantly less material to produce. Traditional CPUs are replaced with devices called thin clients, which are slightly larger than VHS tapes. That equates to less energy spent on transportation and less material to eventually recycle. Each unit is expected to work effectively for five to six years, nearly double the life span of traditional PCs, and its low heat output means less power needed for air conditioning.

In addition to environmental benefits, the new system is a valuable IT management solution and will provide significant cost savings for the university. The system calls for moving the software and storage from each individual computer to five powerful servers located in the data center in Conway Hall. This Virtual Desktop Infrastructure will speed processing times, provide instant desktop recovery and lessen the time spent on upgrades and repair.

Users may not even notice the changes, as they will encounter the same familiar Windows experience. If anything, students will detect much faster logon and processing times. And should one of the new workstations go down, users can logon to another lab machine to instantly recover exactly where they were without losing any data – even without saving.

Centralizing the management of more than 230 desktop computers – in all 18 labs across campus – will reduce the downtime for individual upgrades and repair. Computer Services will be able to download the latest software updates one time in the data center instead of individually on each machine, and most repairs will be made remotely.

“This is a good solution for Rockhurst," said Matt Heinrich, associate vice president of facilities and technology. "It's the responsible thing to do and a perfect fit with our mission. I feel good that this is one way in which we can help make God's good world better.”

Once the system is fully implemented, Rockhurst plans to donate more than 200 CPUs to local nonprofit organizations, including Cristo Rey Kansas City.

Thin-client technology is catching on in businesses across the nation. While not the only university in the area to use this green technology, Rockhurst’s large-scale implementation currently puts it ahead of the curve among schools in the region.

To learn more, visit Rockhurst Computer Services. Please feel free to contact vdi@rockhurst.edu for more information. Your questions and feedback are encouraged.
(816) 501-4357 - Conway Hall, 4th Floor - 1100 Rockhurst Road - Kansas City, Missouri

Baby steps in green computing

By WyldKard
July 29, 2008

A few months back, we commented on the slow baby-steps the computer industry is taking to green consumer computers, which comes across as one-part morality and one-part bandwagon-hopping at best.

Take Dell’s Studio Hybrid PC for example, which was last reported to have an external bamboo casing as a sign of how green it is. Now, however, the Studio Hybrid PC is advertised as having interchangeable color sleeves for personalization, “or one in bamboo”. So much for a steadfast green initiative, Dell.

While the Studio Hybrid PC may very well be greener than the typical desktop machine thanks to containing recycled materials, the details of this greening are slim on Dell’s site, which isn’t much of a surprise considering the final “bamboo-optional” product.

Third-party storage company Fabrik recently touted their [re]drive, an external hard drive with a bamboo/recycled aluminum chassis which acts as a heat-sink as well as a drive enclosure. That’s a basic concept we can get behind, but with bamboo in abundance, why aren’t more companies focusing on using easily-sustainable materials instead of even bothering with recycled aluminum, particularly when we all know that not everyone recycles their aluminum anyway? If anything, save the metals for where they’re important, like in the actual hard drive.

That’s not to say that the green initiatives of Dell, Fabrik, and other companies aren’t appreciated, but let’s not over-appreciate them, either. Consumer electronics are notoriously dirty creatures that spit in the face of sustainability, requiring significant environmental footprints as part of the material mining process, production, and transportation required.

With that in mind, there’s little reason that more components of modern computers couldn’t be replaced with greener alternatives like bamboo, particularly with the minimal cost associated with such replacements. Or, we can keep backing petroleum use with every plastic panel we decide to put on our overpriced toys.

http://mendax.org/2008/07/29/baby-steps-in-green-computing/

Related post:
Green Computers An Oxymoron?
http://mendax.org/2008/04/23/green-computers-an-oxymoron/

The Greenwash Guide

Greenwash: Annoying or dangerous?

There does seem to be a lot of greenwash
out there, and the temptation for more is
significant. But you could question…is it
really a problem?

If you’re an ‘environmentalist’ type of person advertisements
for ‘eco-friendly’ SUVs are obviously annoying, but why do we
get so much more upset about greenwash than the thousands
of advertisements that happily and legally try to sell us
unsustainable products?

A truly rational approach would surely rail against advertisements
for disposable nappies, cheap flights, water-polluting detergents and
obesity-causing fast food. There’s far more money spent
on advertising those destructive products and services
than on greenwash.

Advertising is expensive, and it’s not an exact science
- as Lord Lever the founder of Unilever purportedly
acknowledged, “half our advertising is wasted; I just
don’t know which half”. This growth in selling green
is a sign of things to come: you want to buy green,
you expect companies to be green, and they have
eagerly started to tell you that they are… occasionally
without good reason for doing so.

Enter greenwash...

The full, and rather difficult to
read, version of the Oxford English
Dictionary defines greenwash as;

“Disinformation disseminated by
an organisation, etc., so as to
present an environmentally
responsible public image; a public
image of environmental
responsibility promulgated by or
for an organisation, etc., but
perceived as being unfounded or
intentionally misleading.” 8

Green words

The term greenwash only officially became part of
the English language in 1999 with that entry into the
Oxford English Dictionary, but it’s been around a lot
longer than that. In fact the first recorded use of the
term was by David Bellamy in the periodical Sanity
over twenty years ago. By Earth Day in 1990 the
concept was catching on. Most greenwash back then
didn’t include specific claims or marketing messages;
instead it was more ham-fisted images of frolicking
dolphins and lush rainforests set beside the company
logo, all to convey an impression of eco-friendliness.

These early attempts to green a company’s image
now seem laughable, especially when you think
that Bhopal, Exxon Valdez and other environmental
and social corporate disasters were still fresh in the
memory. But even these early attempts at greening
company images didn’t stay fashionable and the
1990s saw only occasional greenwash spikes. Those
were the years of specialist green products and
outlets like the Body Shop. Although greenwash
may still have been around, the audience affected
by it was small and the spending on communications
low. Only with the recent green wave, when green
consumption first dissolved its boundaries and
entered the mainstream, has greenwash raised its
head again.

During 2008 the USA are reviewing their code and
the UK is considering further guidance on theirs.
It’s likely that the Australian, French and Norwegian
codes will all encourage other countries to consider
greenwash rules.

Of course, greenwash doesn’t mean the same wherever you are.
One apocryphal story has it that a climate campaign run by a large
company across the UK, USA and China was accused
of greenwash in the first, hailed a brave in the second
and pulled because of government upset at being
implicitly criticised in the last. The next twelve months
should be interesting for those planning worldwide
green marketing campaigns.

A virtuous or vicious cycle?

So what can we expect in the coming months
and years from the greenwashers? From
our research and interviews here are a few
predictions on what we’ve got coming, both
the good and bad.
Cyber greenwash

The Advertising Standards Authority covers obvious advertisements and PR, but what about the blogs, virals and wikipedias of cyber space?

One of the least pleasant forms of greenwash around is
called ‘astroturfing’, and we’re likely to see more of it.

According to said Wikipedia, ‘astroturfing’ is:
“The term is a wordplay based on ‘grassroots democracy’ efforts, which are truly spontaneous undertakings largely sustained by private persons (not politicians, governments, corporations, or public relations firms). ‘AstroTurf’ refers to the bright green artificial grass used in some sports stadiums, so ‘astroturfing’ refers to imitating or faking popular (‘grassroots’) opinion or behaviour.”

Watch your mouse

Online ‘astroturfing’ means quotes from the public, blogs
written by interested individuals, spontaneous email chains,
and yes, even Wikipedia pages that seem to be put together by
ordinary folk, but which in fact are the careful creations of PR
firms hired by greenwashers. A moment’s thought shows how
widespread this could be.

Luckily, surveys prove that we grade online information as the
least trustworthy of all types. Keep your greenwash antennae
extra sensitive online and check the sources of all pseudosounding
science or green claims.

How long until the first green ‘spam’ email? Actually, it’s
probably already happened.

Global standards

The International Standards Organisation has their own green
claims code, yet a number of national governments have felt
the need to develop their own. Cultural differences, green
awareness levels and even political affiliations all affect how a
society judges greenwash.

It seems likely that greenwash will begin to raise questions at
an international level. National governments may even consider
penalising national companies who greenwash overseas.

Raising the bar

The good news is that with a growing market comes growing
competition, and we are all likely to be offered more specifically
designed green products, and much greener versions of old
favourites. If we buy them we’ll get even more.

However, this opens up a risk for business. A product that looks
‘pretty green’ in 2008 might just look like greenwash by 2009.

A greener future

If we project the current speed of growth in green
consumption in the UK then the ‘green pound’ could
be worth £53.76bn in five years and nearly £180bn by 2022.
That kind of market is going to have a real and lasting
positive impact on the planet and probably make us
all a bit happier.

The Greenwash Guide
By Jonathan Bardelline
July 18, 2008
This report (PDF) takes a look at the main issues and
players involved in greenwashing, giving an overview
of the many types of greenwashing, how it's committed
and how to avoid it.

The graphic-rich document includes real world examples
of right and wrong ways to make eco-claims. Any company
advertising the environmental benefits of their company,
products or services should be aware of the many different
environmental advertising standards as well as best practices
to follow.

Source URL: http://www.greenbiz.com/resources/resource/the-greenwash-guide
Links:
http://www.futerra.co.uk/downloads/Greenwash_Guide.pdf
http://www.futerra.co.uk/

MORE about Greenwashing by Joel Makower:

How Bad Is Greenwashing, Really? http://www.greenercomputing.com/column/2008/07/06/how-bad-is-greenwashing-really

The Six Sins of Greenwashing
http://makower.typepad.com/joel_makower/2007/11/the-six-sins-of.html

Four Out of Five Information Technology (IT) Decision Makers Value Green IT

Cost Presents Biggest Barrier to Greater Adoption

VERNON HILLS, Ill. – July 23, 2008 – Eighty percent of IT decision makers across government and corporate sectors believe that implementing Green IT solutions in their organizations is important, according to a new survey by CDW Corporation. Additionally, almost half (49 percent) report positive reputation as one of the greatest benefits of adopting Green IT.

However, 51 percent of IT decision makers hesitate to employ Green IT technologies because of concerns about cost, while 25 percent cite complexity of implementing and maintaining Green IT solutions. Twenty-one percent cite potential disruptions to current systems as a top barrier to adoption.

“Even though IT decision makers clearly recognize the importance of Green IT solutions such as virtualization and server consolidation, there are always going to be growing pains involved with making a significant change to an organization,” said CDW Vice President Mark Gambill, the company’s executive responsible for market insights. “If going green means replacing servers that are already delivering reliable IT to an organization, then widespread adoption may take some time.” Green IT is the practice of using natural resources efficiently and minimizing environmental impact through the entire IT product lifecycle. Examples of Green IT initiatives include IT purchasing practices that favor environmental protection, efficient IT energy use and safe recycling of electronic equipment. For more information about attitudes of IT decision makers toward Green IT, please visit http://www.cdwitmonitor.com/.

According to CDW, the biggest “champions” of Green IT solutions within corporations and government organizations tend to be executives at the highest level. Forty-six percent of corporate IT decision makers— including 73 percent of small businesses— cite the CEO, President, Partner or Owner as the biggest proponent of Green IT. However, less than a third of small businesses have begun to implement Green IT versus nearly two-thirds of large businesses.

“In some cases, large businesses have greater flexibility when it comes to implementing new technologies,” added Gambill. “However, Green IT solutions can benefit organizations of all sizes. As IT decision makers become more aware of the available options, Green IT adoption will likely continue to broaden.”

In contrast to corporations, only 35 percent of government organizations have implemented Green IT solutions, and more than a third (39 percent) of them have no plans to implement Green IT in the next two years.

“It will be interesting to see how the priorities of government organizations regarding Green IT may change over time as its value in long-term cost savings becomes more clear,” added Gambill.

In early August, CDW plans to release the 2008 Energy Efficient IT (E2IT) Report, which will focus on the more narrow topic of IT energy efficiency. Some of the findings in the E2IT Report will include the priority that IT professionals give to energy efficiency and best practices from organizations that have been most successful in this area. The basis for the E2IT Report is a June CDW survey of 778 IT professionals in business, government and education.

About the CDW Green IT survey

The CDW Green IT survey was created by CDW Corporation, and research and analysis is conducted by independent polling firm Richard Day Research of Evanston, Ill. Decision makers are invited from two large national panels of IT decision makers built and maintained by E-Rewards and Survey Sampling International. Data reported in this release is based on a survey of 1,041 IT decision makers conducted between May 27 and June 3, 2008.

CDW Corporation also publishes the CDW IT Monitor, a bimonthly indicator of the direction, momentum and mindset of the U.S. IT marketplace. The IT Monitor is based on a national online survey of at least 1,000 IT decision makers from business (small, medium and large) and government (state, federal and local) sectors.

About CDW

CDW is a leading provider of technology solutions for business, government and education. Ranked No. 39 on Forbes’ list of America’s Largest Private Companies, CDW features dedicated account managers who help customers choose the right technology products and services to meet their needs. The company’s technology specialists offer expertise in designing customized solutions, while its advanced technology engineers can assist customers with the implementation and long-term management of those solutions. Areas of focus include notebooks, desktops, printers, servers and storage, unified communications, security, wireless, power and cooling, networking, software licensing and mobility solutions.

CDW was founded in 1984 and as of December 31, 2007 employed approximately 6,300 coworkers. In 2007, the company generated sales of $8.1 billion. For more information, visit
http://www.cdwitmonitor.com/green_IT.php.

How much it costs to run your computer

Computers
Desktop Computer	60-250 watts
On screen saver	60-250 watts (no difference)
Sleep / standby	1 -6 watts
Laptop	15-45 watts

Monitors
Typical 17" CRT	80 watts
Typical 17" LCD	35 watts
Apple MS 17" CRT, mostly white (blank IE window)	63 watts
Apple MS 17" CRT, mostly black (black Windows desktop with just a few icons)	54watts
Screen saver (any image on screen)	Same as above (no difference)
Sleeping monitor (dark screen)	0-15 watts
Monitor turned off at switch	0-10 watts

To calculate your costs use this formula:

Watts x Hours Used	x Cost per kilowatt-hour = Total Cost
1000

For example, let's say you have a big high-end computer with a gaming-level graphics card and an old CRT monitor, and you leave them on 24/7. That's about 330 watts x 24 hours x 365 days/yr = 2,890,800 watt-hours, or 2891 kilowatt-hours. If you're paying $0.14 per kWh, you're paying $405 a year to run your computer.

Let's try a different example: You have a computer that's less of an energy hog, like in iMac G5 20", which uses about 105 watts, and you're smart enough to turn it off when you're not using it. You use it for two hours a day, five days a week. That's ten hours a week, or 520 hours a year. So your 105 watts times 520 hours = 54,600 watt-hours. Divide by 1000 and you have 55 kilowatt-hours (kWh). If you're paying 10¢ per kilowatt-hour, then you're paying $5.50 a year to run your computer.

That's quite a range, $5.50 to $405 a year. It really depends on what kind of computer it is, and how much you use it -- and especially whether you sleep it when you're not using it. Both the examples above are extremes. I used to have only one example somewhere in the middle but then I'd see people on blogs and messageboards misquoting it by writing, "Mr. Electricity says a computer costs about about $150/yr. to run" No, that is not what I said. I said that was just an example. Your situation is almost certainly different, and you need to consider all the variables, like what kind of computer it is, how much you use it, and most especially whether you leave it running all the time or sleep it when you're not using it.

http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/computers.html

To calculate your costs use this formula:

Watts x Hours Used

_______________ x Cost per kilowatt-hour = Total Cost
1000

[(Watts times hours used) divided by 1000] times Cost per kilowatt-hour equals Total Cost

For example, let's say you have a big high-end computer with a gaming-level graphics card and an old CRT monitor, and you leave them on 24/7. That's about 330 watts x 24 hours x 365 days/yr = 2,890,800 watt-hours, or 2891 kilowatt-hours. If you're paying $0.14 per kWh, you're paying $405 a year to run your computer.

Let's try a different example: You have a computer that's less of an energy hog, like in iMac G5 20", which uses about 105 watts, and you're smart enough to turn it off when you're not using it. You use it for two hours a day, five days a week. That's ten hours a week, or 520 hours a year. So your 105 watts times 520 hours = 54,600 watt-hours. Divide by 1000 and you have 55 kilowatt-hours (kWh). If you're paying 10¢ per kilowatt-hour, then you're paying $5.50 a year to run your computer.

That's quite a range, $5.50 to $405 a year. It really depends on what kind of computer it is, and how much you use it -- and especially whether you sleep it when you're not using it. Both the examples above are extremes. I used to have only one example somewhere in the middle but then I'd see people on blogs and messageboards misquoting it by writing, "Mr. Electricity says a computer costs about about $150/yr. to run" No, that is not what I said. I said that was just an example. Your situation is almost certainly different, and you need to consider all the variables, like what kind of computer it is, how much you use it, and most especially whether you leave it running all the time or sleep it when you're not using it.

http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/computers.html

The geography of green consumerism

Green.view
Why does Berkeley have so many Priuses?
Jun 16th 2008
From Economist.com

BUYING green is all the rage: barely a day passes without the rollout of a new “environmentally responsible” product. This week it's the waterless car-wash, an energy saving computer monitor and a biodegradable dish-rack. Ignore, for a moment, whether green consumerism is a contradiction in terms. Pass over the question of whether these products actually deliver the benefits they promise. Who buys them—the rich, the idealistic, the penny pinching or the guilty?


Perhaps energy saving cars, light-bulbs, computer monitors and building materials appeal to those who value their future environmental benefits. But evidence suggests that, despite tangible financial rewards, most people do not make even small environmentally sound changes at home, such as installing energy-efficient light bulbs or not leaving the television on standby.

By and large, then, these green products are aimed at the environmentally concerned. Matthew Kahn and Ryan Vaughn, economists at the University of California at Los Angeles, wrote a paper analysing the patterns of green consumerism in California. They noticed that Berkeley, California, just a few hours up the coast, has lots of Priuses, organic food, solar panels and public transit—and no Hummers.

Messrs Kahn and Vaughn built a database of every certified green building, sorted by zip codes. They looked at where hybrid vehicles were registered, and constructed a measure of each zip code's politics based on analysis of party registration and voting records on two binding statewide environmental initiatives.

They also controlled their results for factors such as age, income and ethnicity, allowing them to see environmental commitment all the more starkly. Malibu, for instance, has many Prius owners; Beverly Hills has few, but both are largely wealthy and white: it is no stretch to deduce, then, that Malibu residents tend to be greener than those of Beverly Hills.

When they average their measure of greenery by zip code, across entire cities, and then rank the results, the usual suspects come out top and bottom. Of 349 places in California, the ten greenest are Albany, Berkeley, Fairfax, Belvedere, Piedmont, Mill Valley, Larkspur, Portola Valley, Sausalito and Palo Alto. Folsom and Bakersfield rank near the bottom. And mapping their index by zip code across the entire state gives a graphic representation of where California's greenies live.

All of this raises the question of why the politically green huddle together in the same sorts of locations. Dr Kahn speculates that small initial differences in spatial attributes, such as being close to a beach or public transport, may create the initial seeds of green communities. “This in turn attracts ‘green businesses’,” he explains, “such as tofu restaurants and bike shops, and this in turn attracts more greens.” The process culminates when greens have enough political clout to elect politicians and enact green regulation that further enhances their community’s attractiveness to environmentalists.

Though greens are a small minority in America generally, concentrated in certain locations, they can have a strong influence on local policy. California itself is quite green relative to other states, and taking unilateral steps, which are much stricter than federal mandates, to mitigate its greenhouse gas emissions.

While green clustering could certainly cause hot spots in green consumerism, let us not neglect other possible factors when it comes to the Prius. What we know of work on social interactions suggests that the chance that any person will buy a Prius is likely to be related to the probability that his neighbour buys one. Of course, competitively purchasing the latest green products to keep up with the Joneses is hardly environmentally friendly. But that, as they say, is another matter entirely.

http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/greenview/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11562081

Here is the link to the report referenced in the above article. Page 6 shows the results.
Green Market Geography: The Spatial Clustering of Hybrid Vehicle and LEED Registered Buildings
http://www.zimancenter.com/WorkingPapers/2008-19.pdf

1st "Green" computer coming soon

So I know that many of you out there may just skim through the different news posts, but this one is really worth a read. As I was browsing around the internet, as so many of us do, I came across an ad that caught my eye. Sometime in late July, a totally "Green" computer called the CherryPal is going to launch, and it looks to be pretty neat.With no actual moving parts or any of that, it can deliver the power of a standard computer that is out on the market right now, all for a very low cost to both your wallet and the environment. Read on for some more details and a better picture of the unit.

Well the unit (pictured below) is called the CherryPal, and it looks to be the future, or what I hope is the future. This little guy is supposedly comparable to that of a Macbook or standard Dell computer. While you will not be playing Crysis on this little black box, you will be able to do pretty much everything else quite well. The CherryPal is ideal for anyone who wants a no-hassle, no-software upgrades, no-virus computer experience.

The company that created chips for Apple computers has developed CherryPal's triple-core processor. By combining multiple computer chips onto one, CherryPal not only reduces the cost of manufacturing computers, they also reduce the amount of power needed to run them. The computers are so energy efficient that they require only 2W of power to run. Also, the CherryPal has no moving parts, so the computer is completely silent and very durable. CherryPal's operating system is strongly tied to the ideas of cloud computing—where applications are hosted remotely and accessed over the Internet. Users will be given 4GB of flash-based solid state internal storage and additional online storage.

http://www.thinkdif.com/the-news/gaming/1st-%22green%22-computer-coming-soon/

Cherrypal: World’s Most Affordable Green PC

This green PC comes in a small, affordable package weighing just 10.5 ounces and consuming no more than two watts of power. The triple-core processor only has one fifth of the components of traditional computers, boots-up in 20 seconds, and promises to be faster than Vista and mac’s OS-X.

read more | digg story

CherryPal to Release Affordable Green PC Come August 2008

Published: 6/28/08 at 11:31 AM
Written By: Julianna Cummins

(andPOP) - CherryPal will soon be releasing a lightweight and green personal computer. The PC comes in a small, affordable package weighing only 10.5 ounces, according to a story appearing on inhabitat.com. While the green PC will consume no more than two watts of power, CherryPal says the computer will boot-up in 20 seconds, and promises it will be faster than Vista and Mac’s OS-X. The CherryPal computer will have a triple-core processor will have only one-fifth of the components of a typical computer.

The CherryPal will operate on a system of ‘cloud computing’, which means that data usually stored on one dedicated server is instead stored on a third party’s data centre. When an individual wants to access or store information, it can be done so through the third party’s data centre.

As explained on inhabitat.com, it means that most of the resources on the CherryPal will be stored, owned and accessed by a third part data centre much like a service-on-demand application. The actual memory space on the CherryPal is quite small (GB of flash storage, 256MB of memory), but cloud computing essentially eliminates computer viruses, according to the article.

Official pricing of the CherryPal has not been released yet, but it is expected to sell for well under $400 (before keyboard, monitor and additional accessories). Inhabitat.com advises to anticipate an early August release, with a laptop version soon to follow.

http://www.andpop.com/article/11828

CherryPal: The Green Little PC That Could

Written by Jaymi Heimbuch
Friday, 27 June 2008

Even the name is adorable. CherryPal. This tiny 10.5 oz PC is coming soon, and will use no more than 2 watts of power without sacrificing speed. The triple-core processor uses only 20% of the components of traditional computers and will start up in only 20 seconds, promising to be faster than Vista and mac’s OS-X…though it doesn’t take much to be faster than Vista.

It can be so fast with so few part by utilizing cloud computing. So while the PC itself has just 4GB of flash storage, 256MB of memory, and 400MHz of processing, it will be able to access resources from a third-party provider in a data center. So not only can it be small and fast, it will also be virus-free, not needing constant virus protection upgrades that take up room and slow it down. It’ll have standard features like two USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet with jack, headphone level stereo audio, and a 10 watt AC-DC adapter to charge it up. Creators say the small size will provide a great energy savings, and combine that with the low cost of the computer itself, they say it’ll be “the most affordable, greenest computer on the market.” Official prices aren’t out yet, but Inhabitat’s sources say it’ll be well under $400…but add on to that the cost of the monitor, keyboard and other accessories, which can be found very inexpensively for those of us who care about the affordability factor.

When I first read the title, I was expecting to read about something that would be solar powered, or use recycled or clean materials in the creation. Sounds like CherryPal, though far cuter than other cheap “green” computers out there, only has low power usage as its leg up on the competition. As for "green," the low power thing is kind of a so-what feature. With the leaps and bounds being made in low-power, high-ability computers, I don’t think this will be in the lead for long, if at all, which I suppose really is a good thing for all of us if it means more computers that use less power on the market.

Via Inhabitat
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1801/

CherryPal Cloud Computer

The CherryPal is billed as a cloud computer - basically, a PC that is powered by a low-power Freescale processor, helping keep costs low and the overall size small. Of course, you do get the other computing staples such as two USB ports, a monitor port, 4GB of flash storage and a measly 256MB RAM. Good thing it runs on a tweaked version of embedded Linux though, as even Windows XP would have brought this little computer to its knees. It takes just about 20 seconds to boot up, and thanks to the tri-core 400Mhz Freescale processor, it ain't no slouch when it comes to performance. Don't expect Doom 3 to run on it anytime soon though. There is no word on availability, but CherryPal has touted a dramatically low price tag - even lower than the $400 Eee PC.

URL: http://www.softwareheadlines.com/modules/planet/view.article.php/276473

CHERRYPAL: World’s Most Affordable Green PC

June 26, 2008

by Evelyn Lee

CherryPal is taking cloud computing mainstream in a big way with a soon to be released green personal computer. This green PC comes in a small, affordable package weighing just 10.5 ounces and consuming no more than two watts of power. The triple-core processor only has one fifth of the components of traditional computers, boots-up in 20 seconds, and promises to be faster than Vista and mac’s OS-X.

CherryPal had us doing our computer research to understand the power behind utilizing cloud computing. The PC contains only 4GB of flash storage, 256MB of memory, and a power architecture-based 400MHz Freescale mobileGT MPC5121e chip on a Linux operating system. To the everyday user, this means that most of the computer resources will be owned and accessed by a third-party provider in a data center – the type of service on demand similar to the way we program a Tivo. It also means that computer viruses will truly be a thing of the past for Cherrypal users.

For those of you who are a little more tech savy, here’s a more complete list of CherryPal’s Hardware:

* Freescale’s MPC5121e mobileGT processor, 800 MIPS (400 MHz) of processing
* 256MB of DDR2 DRAM
* 4GB NAND Flash-based solid state drive
* WiFi 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
* Two USB 2.0 ports
* One 10/100 Ethernet with RJ-45 jack
* One VGA DB-15 display out jack
* Headphone level stereo audio out 3.5mm jack
* 9vDC 2.5mm 10 watt AC-DC adapter power supply
* 10.5 ounces
* 1.3″ high, 5.8″ x 4.2″ wide

Skeptics standby, CEO Max Seibold stands firmly behind his product believing it will not only deliver on energy savings and cost, but also on speed, making it “the most affordable, greenest computer on the market.” According to Seibold, CherryPal will be able to appease the music collectors, the gamers, and those looking for a simple to use word processor. While official pricing hasn’t been released yet, sources say to look-out for prices well under $400 sans the monitor, keyboard, and any additional accessories necessary to run the desktop. Look out for an early August release along with a laptop to follow in the near future.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/06/26/cherrypal-worlds-most-affordable-green-personal-computer/

CherryPal ‘cloud computer’ is cheap, offers online options

By Aaron Baker • June 22, 2008

Startup company CherryPal has launched their first computer, dubbed the ‘cloud computer.’ The computer is powered by a 400 Freescale mobileGT MPC5121e processor, has 256MB of RAM, 4GB of flash memory and WiFi 802.11 b/g. The specs aren’t amazing, but it’s what CherryPal has to offer that might be.

Rather than have hard drives in our computers, CherryPal thinks that we’d rather buy cheap, low-power mini-PCs and use any of the multiple online storage and Office apps. Then, all the data is available anywhere you go, as long as you have internet connectivity. CherryPal is shipping the machine with a version of the Debian Linux OS.

CherryPal hasn’t revealed the MRSP, however as a guess, we’d say that it will be pretty close to the Eee PC line.

http://www.digitalburn.com/index.php/2008/06/22/cherrypal-cloud-computer-is-cheap-offers-online-programs/

Green Cherry? Well, Yeah!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Heard through the tech underground that there's a new startup planning to offer an incredible ultra-low cost, ultra-high energy efficient, super-fast new generation of desktop and laptop computers.

Word is the very green computer will cost about as much as an iPod and be as fast as a $3,000 Mac or PC. That's not all, my friends. This "cheap/green/easy" consumer desktop/laptop is being offered by a company that believes in sustainable living. Sounds to me like they are on the right road by making their computers inexpensive, green, user-friendly and - you're going to love this! - featuring open source software applications as well as open communication. The products will be launched in July.

While they could call the products "green apples" (and hear from Apple attorneys in 20 minutes) they seem to have gone to a different fruit. Check out the tease at CHERRYPAL.COM. Am I interested in buying a CherryPal this summer?
Well, YEAH!

http://serendipitydoodah.blogspot.com/2008/06/green-cherry-well-yeah.html

CherryPal ‘cloud computer’ promises cheap online utopia

Friday, Jun 20th 2008 by Chris Davies

Startup and cloud computing aficionados CherryPal have unveiled their first compact PC. Powered by a 400MHz Freescale mobileGT MPC5121e processor, the 10.5oz computer has a scant 256MB of RAM, 4GB of flash memory and WiFi b/g. So far, so meagre, but the CherryPal’s saving grace is the online software and storage suite the company is promising.

Rather than have huge hard-drives sat under our desk, CherryPal are betting that we’d rather buy cheap, low-power (and low-power-hungry) mini-PCs and use any of the multiple online storage and Office apps. The bonus is that all that data is then available anywhere you go, as long as you have internet connectivity. CherryPal are supplying the machine with a version of the Debian Linux OS.

Of course, we’ve seen something a little similar to the CherryPal PC before: Linutop’s compact solid-state desktop. Like the CherryPal, the Linutop uses a low-power computer and flash memory; the Linux OS ships on a removable memory stick, or alternatively can boot from across a network. And, like the CherryPal, the main stumbling block is the price. CherryPal are yet to reveal their MRSP, but a combination of a niche product and a weak dollar has forced the Linutop price to $410. Against that, an Eee notebook looks mighty appealing.

http://www.slashgear.com/cherrypal-cloud-computer-promises-cheap-online-utopia-2012169.php

CherryPal Cloud Computer

The CherryPal is billed as a cloud computer - basically, a PC that is powered by a low-power Freescale processor, helping keep costs low and the overall size small. Of course, you do get the other computing staples such as two USB ports, a monitor port, 4GB of flash storage and a measly 256MB RAM. Good thing it runs on a tweaked version of embedded Linux though, as even Windows XP would have brought this little computer to its knees.

It takes just about 20 seconds to boot up, and thanks to the tri-core 400Mhz Freescale processor, it ain't no slouch when it comes to performance. Don't expect Doom 3 to run on it anytime soon though. There is no word on availability, but CherryPal has touted a dramatically low price tag - even lower than the $400 Eee PC.

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2008/06/cherrypal_cloud_computer.html

CherryPal's green cloud computer

“Today you can find green food…green power…so why on earth hasn’t someone created an inexpensive green computer?” So goes the flash ad on CherryPal’s website announcing the August 4th arrival of what CherryPal CEO Max Seybold calls “the most affordable, greenest computer on the market.”

Running on just 2W of energy the CherryPal utilizes a 400 Mhz Freescale processor (not to be compared to AMD or Intel chips since the whole platform is different). Many are skeptical about the speed of the computer, but Seybold promises that the 10.5 oz computer can boot in 20 seconds and speed through applications utilizing its cloud networked software delivery system.

The CherryPal folks have stripped 80% of the normal PC innards, resulting in a simple machine about the size of a paperback. The computer will run on a Linux based operating system and will include 2 USB ports,256 MB DDR, Wifi connectivity, 4GB of internal storage, and 50GB of online storage.

Some remain skeptical that the system will deliver the speed, storage, and functions that users want. The Register, for instance, asks how iTunes would work on a system that only has 4GB of internal storage. An important question since CherryPal is targeted to a young, environmentally conscious audience that may still be reluctant to give up their iPods.

Until CherryPal releases its demonstration models of the desktop in a few weeks all is speculation. For now this is certainly a product worth watching.


http://www.triplepundit.com/pages/cherrypals-green-cloud-compute-003249.php