Intel: Saving Billions on Eco-Friendly Computers

Computers use a lot of electricity. Whether they are turned on, off, standing by, or recharging, the average desktop PC wastes over half the power delivered to it. This wasted electricity increases the cost to power computers and also increases greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

To get rid of this excess use of energy, Intel and Google have joined forces and started the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. The initiative is designed to bring together industry, consumers, government, and conservation organizations to increase the energy efficiency of computers and servers. Improving the energy efficiency of computers is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce electricity consumption and the GHG emissions that contribute to climate change. Through more efficient design optimized for power consumption and other power-saving technologies, the electricity required to power computers can be significantly reduced.

Saving $5.5 billion

The primary objective for the Climate Savers Computing Initiative is to commit the computer and component manufacturers that have signed the Initiative to produce products that meet the specified power efficiency targets. Corporate participants in the Initiative obligate themselves to purchase power-efficient computing products.

In addition, the Initiative intends to educate consumers and IT personnel about power management of computers, and show individuals how they can reduce the carbon footprint of their computers without any resulting loss of productivity. Expectations for the Initiative are that it will help save money, reduce energy consumption, and reduce GHG emissions at the same time.

By 2010, the efforts of technology providers and committed participants are planned to lead to a 50% reduction in annual power consumption by computers; and the expectation by Intel and Google is that participants in the Initiative can collectively save US $5.5 billion in energy costs.

Green Wi-Fi

The new digital economy has transformed the world through a new array of new business and communication models – everything from e-commerce to wireless broadband. These innovations are delivering new gains in productivity and connectivity. In an age of global warming, it is becoming ever more important to "do more with less" in order to manage the world's resources and continue to let the economies grow.

Technology exists today that can both improve the efficiency of a computer's power delivery and reduce the energy consumed when the computer is inactive. So, if the partners that have signed the deal deliver their part of the agreement, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative looks to enhance computer energy efficiency for many years to come.

Let the computer sleep

In a typical desktop PC, more than half of the power coming out of the wall is wasted as heat and never reaches the processor, memory, disks, or any other component. 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 typically more efficient than desktops, but still waste 30- 40% of the input power.

With proven technology, and at a modest additional cost, the vast majority of these energy losses can be eliminated. The Climate Savers Computing Initiative strives to rapidly enhance the amount of high-efficiency systems in both consumer and business markets.

In addition, there is a significant opportunity to reduce overall energy consumption by putting systems into a lower power-consuming state when they are inactive for long periods of time. Even though most of today's desktop PCs are capable of automatically transitioning to a sleep or hibernate state when inactive, Climate Savers have calculated that about 90% of all computer systems have this functionality disabled.

With increased educational efforts to engage private and corporate computer users to be more energy-effective, Climate Savers hopes to considerably reduce this high share. According to Climate Savers, a typical business desktop user can save 60% of the electricity consumed with no compromise to productivity.

ICT can reduce emissions in all sectors

With all these efforts combined, the Initiative seeks to reduce global CO₂ emissions from the operation of computers by 54 million tons per year by 2010, equivalent to the annual output of 11 million cars or 10-20 coal fired power plants. But the potential of ICT-improvements goes far beyond the energy efficiency involved in computer products. It goes for all ICT products (mobile phones, MP3 players, computers, etc.), and it goes for the whole economy.

According to a recent report by The Climate Group, an independent, non-profit organization advising business and governments on combating climate change, ICT is a key sector in the fight against climate change, since it can make possible energy efficiency in other sectors. The Climate Group estimates that the ICT sector could enable as much as a 15% reduction in the world's total amount of GHG emissions by 2020. By integrating ICT into new ways of operating, living, working, learning, and travelling, the ICT sector as a whole could entail an opportunity that would deliver carbon savings five times larger than the total emissions from the entire ICT sector in 2020.

Policy attention required

But it requires the attention and action of policy makers to provide the extra incentives to engage in energy-saving ICT solutions. To help this idea spread to policy makers, Intel has participated in founding the Digital Energy and Climate Solutions (DECS). This coalition of ICT companies and environmental NGOs is dedicated to advance and put forward public policy initiatives that promote the use of ICT solutions as a means towards solving energy challenges, spur innovation and economic opportunity, and contribute to practical strategies for mitigating climate change.

Lasse Skjoldan, Copenhagen Climate Council