The Federal Computer Power Management Requirement: How to Get Started in Your Agency by Robert Huang, The Cadmus Group, Inc. Presentation at Federal Environmental Symposium East June 3, 2008

Presentation Overview What is power management? Why power management? How do I power manage computers and monitors? What are ENERGY STAR qualified computers and monitors and how do obtain them? How do I join the Low Carbon IT Campaign?

What is Power Management? Monitor power management (MPM) places monitors into low power sleep mode after period of inactivity Computer power management (CPM) places computers (CPU, hard drive, etc.) into sleep mode Built into Windows 95,98, ME, 2000, XP and now Vista Settings simply need to be activated

Energy Use and PM Utilization Rates Computers use increasingly more energy than monitors CPM is activated less than 10% of time in organizations. MPM is already activated at over 80% of organizations CPM saves more than MPM

Different Types of CPM System Standby (S3) –Drops power to 1-3 W –Wakes up in seconds –Does not save work in the event of power loss Hibernate (S4) –Drops power to 1-3 W –Wakes up in 20+ seconds –Saves work in the event of power loss Turn off hard disks –saves very little

Why Power Management? Use less electricity –Can save up to $100* per PC by activating MPM and CPM –Reduce carbon emissions from power plants Earn recognition thru the ENERGY STAR Low Carbon IT campaign Executive Order requires federal agencies to activate power management *At national average electricity cost and computers and monitors on 24/7 before CPM and MPM activated

ENERGY STAR Low Carbon IT Campaign A nationwide effort to recognize organizations for reducing the energy consumed by their computers and monitors. Saving energy: –Reduces air pollution associated with the burning of fossil fuels –Lowers the risk of global warming. To join the Low Carbon IT Campaign, your organization pledges to activate power management features on your monitors and computers to save energy and reduce your carbon footprint.

What is the ES specification for computers and monitors? Monitor specification: –Requires lower power consumption in off, sleep, and on modes (based on pixels) –Most all ES compliant monitors are LCD, almost none are CRT Computer specification: –Requires lower power consumption in off, sleep, and idle modes (based upon computer type) –Sets efficiency requirements for power supplies. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires federal agencies to buy ENERGY STAR qualified computers and monitors.

Where Can I Review a List of ES Qualified Computers/Monitors? ES qualified product lists are available at: Over 70 different manufacturers make qualified computers. Over 50 different manufacturers make qualified monitors.

GSA Makes It Easy

Minimizing Computer Energy Use zzzzzzzz…

Savings for a 1,000-Computer Org Using ES and PM A typical* 1000-computer organization can save $40,000 annually Enough electricity to light 240 homes Resulting in over 350 tons of greenhouse gas emissions reductions –equivalent to those of 60 cars from the road *Assumes night-time turn off rate of 36%, that MPM is already activated but CPM is not activated ES savings calculator can quickly and easily quantify these savings for you at:

MPM and CPM: Implementation Differences MPM is a no-brainer -- stable and easy to activate throughout your organization through a number of network tools CPM works best in the following types of environments: –Pentium IV (or newer) processors –Windows 2000, XP, or Vista –Regular administrative software updates are “pulled” by clients from the network, or Wake on LAN (WOL) features are available to wake up client machines to receive administrative updates Recommend setting CPM at 15 to 60 minutes of inactivity, MPM at 5 to 20 minutes of inactivity

Network Tools to Activate MPM and CPM Quickly and Easily Open Source Solutions Commercially Available Products

Open Source Solutions Microsoft’s Windows Vista: provides a way to centrally manage MPM and CPM features. EZ GPO: allows centralized control of CPM and MPM through Group Policy Objects. Template Image Replication: manually activate CPM and MPM settings in the master template hard drive image before replication Login Scripts: Powerconfig.exe can be used in a logon script to configure MPM and CPM settings in Windows XP and Vista. Windows Task Scheduler: Can force logged-out PCs to go into standby mode, while allowing users to control their Power Policies when logged on.

Open Source Solutions to Allow CPM and Night-time Updates Ensure that sleep settings do not interfere with the distribution of administrative software updates (such as Windows security patches and antivirus definitions) by: –Configuring client computers to apply software patches and updates as soon as computers become available on the network. –Using Windows Task Scheduler to wake up sleeping computers for updates. –Using Wake-on-LAN to wake up sleeping computers and perform on-demand software patches or updates.

Commercial Solutions BigFix eiPower Saver Solution Faronics Power Save NightWatchman and SMSWakeUp (from 1E) Remote Desktop (from Apple) SMS Companion (from SMS Expert) Surveyor (from Verdiem) Case studies for these solutions are available at:

MPM Case Studies GE –Activated MPM on 100,000 using EZ Save –Saving $3 million annually Cisco Systems –Used third-party network tool to activate MPM on 50,000 computers –Saving $1 million annually Pitney Bowes –Replicated template hard drive image with MPM activated during W2000 rollout on 10,500 computers –Saving $160,000 annually

Snohomish Public Utility District CPM Metering Study Study conducted at call center with computers on for 24/7 with multiple users Metered 22 individual computers with kWh meters that : –Summed actual power use and hours elapsed and. Capture peak wattage, average wattage and kWh consumed, –Allowed monitoring of weekly energy use and detects overall changes in power consumption. Metered for a week “as is” Metered for a number of months as PM implemented PM implemented through combination of Windows Task Scheduler, VB Scripts and PS shutdown to allow PM and night-time updates

Metering Results Reduced computer energy use by 70% –Pre-PM average workstation power usage was 67.5 watts; –Post-PM was 20.2 watts Saved over 400 kWh/year per PC Saved $25/PC (at only 6 cents/kWh)* Projected savings of 400,000 kWh annually ($25,000 per year) for 1,000 computers at Snowhomish PUD, equivalent to: –Reduction of over 300 tons of CO2 emissions –Emissions of over 50 cars * Average price of energy is 10 cents/kWh

How to Move Forward with CPM 1.Review current behaviors –Are PCs left on at night? –Are sleep features enabled on monitors? Computers? 2.Estimate the savings –Visit –Share estimates with energy managers, senior management –Contact us for assistance if a business case is needed 3.Engage your IT colleagues –Ask for their participation in a 30 min call. We can: Address concerns about the stability of CPM and its impact on hardware Address concerns about keeping all PCs updated & secure Help identify the best method for activating and managing sleep features

Join the Low Carbon IT Campaign and Receive: An estimate energy and carbon savings -- which can be applied towards your carbon reduction goals. Free technical expertise and assistance to help you determine the best way to activate power management features in your IT environment. Recognition in the form of: –An official EPA certificate of recognition acknowledging your efforts –Customizable PR materials: sample press releases, newsletter articles, and quotes from EPA officials –Possible national recognition from EPA for outstanding Campaign participants

Simple Steps to Join Step 1: Estimate your organization’s energy savings using the online ES savings calculator. It allows you to adjust values to reflect your organization’s unique situation. Step 2: After estimating your savings, click “Use this savings estimate in my pledge to join the Low Carbon IT Campaign.” Step 3: Complete the online Pledge Form. After submitting your pledge, you will receive a certificate of recognition, including an estimate of your organization’s carbon savings. For additional information and resources, visit

Certificate of Recognition

Contact Information The Cadmus Group, Inc. (EPA Technical Contractor) Robert Huang,