[Article] Green IT

[Cream]

We wrote our last article for the year (can't believe the year end is so close) and one of the topics covered was about Green IT:

It may be an interesting read:

Can IT have an impact on the environment?

On most agenda’s within the ICT Industry is ‘Green IT’. Electricity consumption for the operation of servers, PCs and other IT related equipment is responsible for an increasingly large proportion of energy consumed by authorities and institutions – and therefore of their contribution to total CO2 emissions.

Carbon dioxide and its equivalents, such as methane and nitrous oxide (referred to, collectively, as CO2e) have a direct impact on the climate change which is the main focus of concern for governments and other organisations.

Many organisations are talking about Green IT, we are driven by technology, and it is an essential part of any organisation. Green IT refers to the study and practice of using computers and IT resources in a more efficient and environmentally responsible way. Computers and computing eat up a lot of natural resources, from the raw materials needed to manufacture them, the power used to run them, and the problems of disposing them at end of life.

IT Vendors are also doing there bit by employing cleaner and leaner sourcing and manufacturing techniques, by designing products that consume less energy and materials ‘during’ use and helping with reuse and recycling ‘after’ use. Manufacturers are also beginning to produce environmental information that you can use when making your buying choices.

Just some of the names helping and contributing towards Green IT are:
· HP
· IBM
· Microsoft
· Dell
· Gartner

Gartner estimates that the ICT Industry accounts for 2% of Global CO2 emissions. A focus on Green IT can help to protect the environment and we explore ways to achieve a greener profile in the area of IT.

Some Practical examples to reduce the electrical consumption around the office are highlighted below.

· Change from stationary computers to portable computers or thin clients
Why: Portable computers are traditionally designed to use less electricity than stationary PCs.

· Determine opportunities for environmentally friendly disposal of equipment in discussions with suppliers
Why: From an environmental perspective and for the purposes of planning future disposal it can be an advantage to enter into a detailed dialogue with potential suppliers regarding the opportunities offered by their concept for the disposal of unserviceable equipment.

· Use time-controlled electricity saving profiles for PCs
Why: In most modern operating systems it is possible to use different electricity saving profiles for desktop PCs depending on the time of day. Public PCs are especially worth configuring in this way so that they change to a very strict electricity saving profile outside of the institution’s normal opening hours.

· Use time-controlled electricity saving profiles for printers and copiers
Why: The majority of printers are not constantly in use and have different hibernation modes. It can be worth seeing if the authority’s existing printers can be configured to enter a mild hibernation mode after not being used for a long period of time and full hibernation mode outside of normal working hours.

· Change to flat screens
Why: A shift from a traditional CRT screen to a flat screen of the same size can reduce electricity consumption by up to two thirds. Based on an electricity saving perspective there is good sense in replacing traditional CRT screen with flat screens. However the environmental impact of manufacturing the new screens does mean that the existing screens’ energy consumption should be included in considerations connected with such replacement.

In the realm of Data Centres and Server rooms, a large amount of research and development has gone into improving the electrical demand of the centres. When studying the PUE (Power Utilisation Efficiency) index of installations, which basically means how much power is consumed on supporting services (Climate control, UPS and Generator support) compared to the Data equipment load; the IT managers can identify opportunities to enhance efficiency. The lower the PUE, the better. Some examples of power saving measures are highlighted below:

· Install blanking panels in server racks
Why: Empty slots in a server rack can result in warm air from the server’s exhaust duct circulating back to the front, where the cold air for ventilation is pulled into the machines. This means that the cooling system has to work harder than would normally be necessary. When multiple racks are used it is best practice to organize all the racks in such a way that all the racks discharge in the same direction, this is called a “hot-isle cold isle” arrangement.

· Position the servers in module cabinets with dedicated cooling
Why: If a server room is based on blade servers organised in a rack, it is possible to concentrate cooling in the rack cabinet itself, which reduces the amount of air that requires cooling. Since blade servers also generally have more efficient power supplies, a transition from conventional servers to blade servers can lead to savings of up to 20% of electricity consumption.

· Virtualise the servers and consolidate capacity/storage space
Why: Virtualisation is becoming more and more common in public authorities’ server rooms. Solutions to support server virtualisation are found as standard software from a number of suppliers today and the increasing competition in the market makes it ever cheaper for customers to obtain fundamental virtualisation solutions. When looking at virtualisation opportunities, it is also worth considering that new servers with multi-core architecture can replace two or more traditional servers and offer the same performance with lower electricity consumption and therefore less load is placed on the supporting services.

· Adjusting the environmental set-point conditions
Why: Traditionally Server rooms have been controlled between 20-22oC with a controlled relative humidity of 50%RH. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) have recently revised the acceptable conditions for Data Centres by increasing the allowable temperature and humidity range allowed based on the Server equipment suppliers technical requirements. This change has enabled a drive to energy efficiency within the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems; while not compromising the computer equipment.

· HVAC systems optimisation
Why: After the computer equipment load the HVAC systems represent the largest electrical consumption of the installation. By upgrading systems to make use of the most efficient technology can dramatically reduce the demand of the HVAC systems and can be integrated with further techniques to decrease the PUE; variable- speed control of plant or Isle containment are two examples.

The word “Green IT” is a relatively new concept that has roots in the old age concept of driving efficiency from all aspects of the business; whether it is from people, processes or assets. As can been seen in this short discussion there are a multitude of ways to increase the efficiency of the IT systems, with many more opportunities to explore; and with all the press Eskom has been getting lately wouldn’t it be a nice surprise seeing your electricity bill getting cheaper.

Source: November Edition_2010

[Martinco]

Change to flat screens
Why: A shift from a traditional CRT screen to a flat screen of the same size can reduce electricity consumption by up to two thirds. Based on an electricity saving perspective there is good sense in replacing traditional CRT screen with flat screens.

Is this in fact true ?

The other day I looked at this and according to the specs of my 40" flatscreen, it consumes about 400 watts and a 24" CRT only at 80 watts.
I realise that the sizes are not the same but even if you double the size of the CRT it only comes to 160 watt.
Or are there other factors to play ?

[adrianh]

I must be perfectly honest - I think that the "Green Movement" is one of the biggest money making rackets out there. Spend R1,000,000 on your server room and save R1000 on electricity, R500,000 for a car and save R100 a month on petrol, R20,000 on solar power and save R50 per month on electricity, etc. Then of course there is the carbon footprint nonnsense - who makes up the calculations anyway, where does the cabon tax money go?

[Martinco]

Where does the carbon tax money go?

I will give you 3 guesses and all will be right !

[Cream]

A shift from a traditional CRT screen to a flat screen of the same size

That is the comparison you need to make - CRT and flat screen of the same size.

[tec0]

I remember a representative of a particular South African power company said a volcano which is “natural” can do more damage in 1 day then what there PowerStation can do in its lifetime and you would have to remove all the filtration systems too.

Carbon gas can be absorbed by plants and the plans can produce oxygen again. My problem with carbon tax is it is unfair. We do not have SAFE alternative transport, our government is responsible for new energy development programs and I am yet to see 1 solar plant a proper one and not just a bunch of wind turbines.

So we must now pay money to breath in oxygen but there is no green program, no planting of big beautiful trees nothing just if the grass gets long they burn it and I just cannot help but wonder how much damage it does to our air quality we breath because they don’t care and they don’t pay for fines because they ARE the municipality.

So I say until we can SEE the solar pants being build until we can see new vegetation and until we have a SAFE and WORKING public transport system this BS.

[tec0]

As for green IT? IT is impossible, yes we can get everything to run cool and on low amounts of energy BUT fabrication per 1 system will consume allot of poisons and petroleum products. So for every PC you see on a table you can imagine about 10 letters or more of waste products some of them deadly. Not to mention the amount of electricity that was used in the production process.

See it is good advice for a company to use a computer because they can use a typewriter that uses no electricity at all but speed will be a thing of the past. The copper network cable you use also produced massif amounts of waste products. Not to mention notebooks use external power-supplies not to mention it uses a battery that ALSO had chemical treatment and all that. “AND it is an expendable” thus more waste.

Don’t get me wrong you have sound and proper ideas on how to make your company run better but look at the system itself. It is not us that need to start with the cleaning process. It really is the manufacturer that must find better ways to build these systems.

[Cream]

No doubt anything 'Green' has become a fact of money making and scams, unfortunately some people are none the wiser when it comes to making the right decisions.

Having said that, there are suppliers, manufacturers and companies doing their bit, but they could be doing more.

About two years ago I had no idea that leaving your cell phone charger plugged in without the phone being connected still uses power. My phone charger is no longer connected unless I need to use it, the point is creating awareness.

[Dazfuzz]

The figures on the Portable TV versus the Flat screen interested me...

So I did an experiment, my 21" flat screen monitor consumes 30W. My old 17" CRT consumes 73W. Maybe it does work in the realm of TVs because of the sound systems?

But I'd still prefer to watch TV on the Flat screen, especially environmental programmes!

[Martinco]

The figures on the Portable TV versus the Flat screen interested me...

So I did an experiment, my 21" flat screen monitor consumes 30W. My old 17" CRT consumes 73W. Maybe it does work in the realm of TVs because of the sound systems?

But I'd still prefer to watch TV on the Flat screen, especially environmental programmes!

Just a question...............the flat screen, is it a plasma, lcd or led ?
I think from the first to the last makes a huge difference in power consumption.
As I said, on my 40" plasma, the indication is 400 w if used on "high power" ( brighter picture )

[twinscythe12332]

size versus power requirements don't scale the same. as an added extra... 40" CRT 0_0 that's crazy.
information technology is one of the fastest expanding sectors. if you think about it with hunters logic (if it cools your chinas down, and your china's chinas...), it will add up.
The whole eco movement is, for the most part, a stamp that everyone wants to have.
The conditions for this "green" stamp are contorted. look at those energy saving bulbs. it takes 8w instead of 40w, sure, but it uses mercury( a heavy metal) to get that.
I'm all for something taking less power. it puts cash back in your pocket, and that is an investment by any standards.

martinco, when did you buy your 40"? age of devices also factors into power consumption (the first few are generally little power suckers until they can get everything right, and newer technologies exist).

[tec0]

The thing is, computers and servers need power, and power comes from PowerStations and not a hamster named Timmy running inside the computer box. Thus regardless of what we use, the mining industry will still destroy vegetation use harmful chemicals and use lots of oil to make the power-station run thus allowing your computer to work.

Fact is sun energy combined with wind energy and other such technologies will reduce the need for tapping in to the grid. So only when your company truly goes green as in trying to produce its own power via a renewable source will it be worth it.

If your systems are powered by the sun most of the time and by the PowerStation some of the time its better then tapping into the PowerStation’s power all the time. Thus you are doing something positive or are you?

Remember now everything you use from your mouse to keyboard to USB flash drive had a messy beginning and will have a messy ending so you can be sure that it doesn’t matter “yet” But it soon will.

See the fact is people think that technology holds the key and has all the answers, this is untrue for only when we understand the true cost of technology will we be able create a green environment.

So by education alone can we become green in IT, by understanding that installing a million applications and running thousands of updates means more CPU power, more RAM and upgrading all the time thus more waste and old computers not being recycled properly.

If one thinks about IT one will understand that YES by doing proper backups and running the minimum software needed to perform a function will I be able to extend the life of my computer systems and networks. Thus I upgrade only when something goes bust.

See software forces hardware upgrades and yes hardware forces software upgrades SO we cannot really win but I know for a fact that you can work around problems rather than buying new computers spend more money create more waste...

Thus plan your system, what do my people need to work and ONLY provide that function, cut out any ability for the user to add anything or do anything but the task and your systems and network will probably run a lot better thus eliminating the need for constant upgrading. Smart phones can use the net so let your employees use that to go on Youbook and Facetube, Why must your network be burdened with that crap?

[twinscythe12332]

The thing is, computers and servers need power, and power comes from PowerStations and not a hamster named Timmy running inside the computer box. Thus regardless of what we use, the mining industry will still destroy vegetation use harmful chemicals and use lots of oil to make the power-station run thus allowing your computer to work.

that's a bit of a chicken egg thing going there. the power stations need the mines who provide coal and the mines need the power stations who provide electricity who need the mines...
bottom line is, mines are bad. heavy metals, greed and holes in the earth are all by-products of mining. And yet our economy can't seem to live without them. It is ironic that while we hold a lot of the minerals everyone else wants, we haven't woken up and started using them ourselves. we're so busy selling our unrefined materials to first world countries that we can't seem to see why they're so important.

Fact is sun energy combined with wind energy and other such technologies will reduce the need for tapping in to the grid. So only when your company truly goes green as in trying to produce its own power via a renewable source will it be worth it.

sun and wind provide power, certainly. But they also need batteries. batteries are banks of chemicals. it's kind of weird how that works =/, it's like we need something harmful to make something okay. eco batteries have been created to some extent, but still don't have anything near to proper production. I think if one of the big battery makers changed to a 100% eco-friendly battery, it would put out a strong message.

also, cost is a big factor. wind power often turns into a novelty instead of a way to cut costs. solar appears to be a bery good way of getting energy. but the cost of solar panels is terrifying. I was looking into making my own solar panels to cut costs. It is entirely possible to cut the price of solar panels by 50% by making your own. however, you're only going to do that if you go large-scale or live in america (ebay has a few well priced solar cells, but the crud thing is that they slap on a shipping fee that is higher than the cost of the cells -_-_

See the fact is people think that technology holds the key and has all the answers, this is untrue for only when we understand the true cost of technology will we be able create a green environment.

So by education alone can we become green in IT, by understanding that installing a million applications and running thousands of updates means more CPU power, more RAM and upgrading all the time thus more waste and old computers not being recycled properly.

If one thinks about IT one will understand that YES by doing proper backups and running the minimum software needed to perform a function will I be able to extend the life of my computer systems and networks. Thus I upgrade only when something goes bust.

See software forces hardware upgrades and yes hardware forces software upgrades SO we cannot really win but I know for a fact that you can work around problems rather than buying new computers spend more money create more waste...

Current generation software scares me. If you look at the stuff that was created for commodore, it was tiny. if you tried to do the exact same thing with one of the up to date APIs, you'd get your 16kb game.... and 20MB for the api. It is my opinion that we have moved backwards in software as much as we have moved forwards. for each new innovation in software, we have too much bloat that comes with it.

Thus plan your system, what do my people need to work and ONLY provide that function, cut out any ability for the user to add anything or do anything but the task and your systems and network will probably run a lot better thus eliminating the need for constant upgrading. Smart phones can use the net so let your employees use that to go on Youbook and Facetube, Why must your network be burdened with that crap?

ah, but then you fall into the trap of not having the latest software. Big IT companies cannot exist without you buying their crapware version 2.0

just like blackberry and istuff in the phone world, there's plenty of "ooooh shiny" that occurs in the software and hardware world. It's picking through the shiet and making an informed decision that wins at the end of the day.

[adrianh]

The problem with the whole Green movement is exactly the same problem as with the diet industry. People want to change with the least inconveniece to themselves. Think about it - we want to use less energy yet we want the same standard of living. Same with dieting, we want to lose weight by taking pills and buying the latest fad exercise machine.

It's picking through the shiet and making an informed decision that wins at the end of the day.

This is the biggest problem. Our economy is driven by consumption. Consumption is driven by marketing. Marketing is drivin by Bull$... Read a book called Bad Science. The book is written by a medical doctor. He looks at various drugs, suppliments, fads and all sorts of marketing mechanisms that are used to sell stuff to the man in the street. We speak of Antioxidants, Omega-3, etc without having the faintest idea about the science involved. We simply eat up the garbage marketing thrown at us all the time. An interesting thing that he shows is how drug companies fabricate illnesses to sell their drugs. 90% of SSRI's (drugs like Prozac) are prescribed for no reason. Viagra is the cure all for the slightest sexual issue - Did you know that Viagra is marketed to women under a different brand name! Another interesting fact is that drug companies rebrand a product and then sell it as a cure for a different concocted ailment (again antidepressants and SSRI's for things like Social Anxiety Disorder) Strange how the word "Disorder" comes up over and over again.

Anyway, to get back to the Green movement - I think that it is simply a marketing gimmick to drive consumption.

[tec0]

All in all, I cannot imagine a future for South Africa or the world, they are addicted to easy power and easy this and easy that... They cannot stop using antiquated means of Power Generation and there is nothing being done to plan for the future.

So we sell out all our natural resources, we do not develop our land or find new ways to generate proper amounts of electricity what will happen then? Simple nothing the human race will dwindle to little more than farming communities “if they are lucky” Technology and all that will have no use at all.