Switchfast Blog: The Future of IT
Power Down: The ROI of Decreasing Utility Waste and Pollution
Thursday, April 15, 2010 by Bryan Anderson
It's common sense to turn the lights off before leaving the
office at night, but a recent study indicates that too few
employees do the same with their computers.
According to a study covered in USA Today, about half of US
office computers are left on overnight- drawing power and running
up utility costs. Fortunately, businesses can estimate the amount
wasted and act to reduce utility costs.
The waste translates to major fiscal and environmental impact.
The study estimates the total loss at $2.8 billion annually in the
form of inflated energy bills, draining the bottom line of
businesses large and small. That wasted energy contributes 20
million tons of harmful carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which
equals the environmental impact and pollution of 4 million
cars.
Concerned about the utility waste within your business? The
Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency have
teamed up to create an incredibly useful "Carbon Calculator". It predicts the
savings your business would see from powering down computers at
night, or replacing aging systems with Energy Star equivalents.
Even for an office of 5 computers, the annual savings can reach
hundreds of dollars - with an impact on offices of 50 or 500
computers reaching thousands of dollars per year.
As a technology environment grows, it can become impossible to
enforce these requirements across a network. Luckily,
businesses can access tools to control power within their
technology environment: powering down monitors while not in use,
turning off CPUs overnight, etc. Best of all, larger offices can
actually see a return on investment using these toolsm with a low
initial cost leading to thousands of dollars in energy savings.
Switchfast's MaxPro solution bundles power management with more
than a dozen other features (remote support, antivirus, backup,
scripting, automatic updates and more). You can request more
information or join a demonstration at one of our MaxPro
Webinars - free of charge and beneficial for all small
businesses!
For information about how to cut your IT costs, email FutureofIT@switchfast.com.
Switchfast Technologies
Chicago IT Support &
Consulting
Rochester
IT Support & Consulting
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