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Can we "power down" more often to save energy?

We leave our computers/printers/scanners/etc. on 24/7, except during the winter break. Even though they are in sleep mode, they are still draining energy all that time. The University of Pennsylvania recently did an experiment during which they totally powered down for a few hours one summer afternoon this year (see http://www.upenn.edu/sustainability/news.html, news item for 26 July) & the energy savings was 13MWh for just one hour! I am aware that the rationale for leaving the computers on is because software on the server is updated frequently, but how frequently does this happen? Wouldn't "powering down" even just over the weekend be feasible?

rdougherty, 02.12.2010, 16:22
Idea status: completed

Comments

ccarter, 06.12.2010, 18:28
The latest version of our Windows management software includes features for minimizing power use and scheduling downtime for the PCs. The energy cost of a PC in “hibernate” mode is very close to that of PC that is powered off. When PCs are regularly powered off, they are more likely to have hardware problems when the components are powered back on. This fact, in conjunction with the fact that they really are regularly updated overnight and over weekends, means it would cost the libraries more staff downtime if the PCs were turned off on a regular basis. Please rest assured that MCS is always working to minimize energy costs while also balancing the libraries need for maximum availability of our computers. --Chris Carter (ccarter@austin.utexas.edu)
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