Green computing

Green computing or green IT, refers to environmentally sustainable computing or IT. In the article Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices(Dell INSPIRON 1520 battery), San Murugesan defines the field of green computing as "the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems—such as monitors(Dell INSPIRON 1420 battery), printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems—efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment." The goals of green computing are similar to green chemistry; reduce the use of hazardous materials(Dell INSPIRON E1505 battery), maximize energy efficiency during the product's lifetime, and promote the recyclability or biodegradability of defunct products and factory waste. Research continues into key areas such as making the use of computers as energy-efficient as possible(Dell INSPIRON 1525 battery), and designing algorithms and systems for efficiency-related computer technologies.

Origins

In 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched Energy Star, a voluntary labeling program which is designed to promote and recognize energy-efficiency in monitors, climate control equipment, and other technologies(SONY VGP-BPS13B/B Battery). This resulted in the widespread adoption of sleep mode among consumer electronics. The term "green computing" was probably coined shortly after the Energy Star program began; there are several USENET posts dating back to 1992 which use the term in this manner(SONY VGP-BPS13 Battery). Concurrently, the Swedish organization TCO Development launched the TCO Certification program to promote low magnetic and electrical emissions from CRT-based computer displays(HP PAVILION DV6000 battery); this program was later expanded to include criteria on energy consumption, ergonomics, and the use of hazardous materials in construction(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ31B Battery).

Regulations and industry initiatives

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published a survey of over 90 government and industry initiatives on "Green ICTs", i.e. information and communication technologies, the environment and climate change(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ31M Battery). The report concludes that initiatives tend to concentrate on the greening ICTs themselves rather than on their actual implementation to tackle global warming and environmental degradation(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ31J Battery). In general, only 20% of initiatives have measurable targets, with government programs tending to include targets more frequently than business associations(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ31E Battery).

Government

Many governmental agencies have continued to implement standards and regulations that encourage green computing. The Energy Star program was revised in October 2006 to include stricter efficiency requirements for computer equipment, along with a tiered ranking system for approved products(Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31S battery).

Some efforts place responsibility on the manufacturer to dispose of the equipment themselves after it is no longer needed; this is called the extended producer responsibility model(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ31z Battery). The European Union's directives 2002/95/EC (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive), on the reduction of hazardous substances, and 2002/96/EC (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive) (SONY VAIO VGN-FZ38M Battery) on waste electrical and electronic equipment required the substitution of heavy metals and flame retardants like Polybrominated biphenyl and Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in all electronic equipment put on the market starting on July 1, 2006(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ210CE Battery). The directives placed responsibility on manufacturers for the gathering and recycling of old equipment.

There are currently 26 US States that have established state-wide recycling programs for obsolete computers and consumer electronics equipment. The statutes either impose an "advance recovery fee" for each unit sold at retail, or require the manufacturers to reclaim the equipment at disposal(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ160 Battery).

In 2010 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was signed into legislation by President Obama. The Bill allocated over $90 billion to be invested in green initiatives (renewable energy, smart grids, energy efficiency, etc…) (SONY VAIO VGN-FZ21 Battery) In January 2010 the U.S. Energy Department granted $47 million dollars of the ARRA money towards projects that aim to improve the energy efficiency of data centers. The projects will provide research on the following three areas(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ410 Battery); optimize data center hardware and software, improve power supply chain, and data center cooling technologies.

Industry

Climate Savers Computing Initiative (CSCI) is an effort to reduce the electric power consumption of PCs in active and inactive states(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ21m Battery). The CSCI provides a catalog of green products from its member organizations, and information for reducing PC power consumption. It was started on 2007-06-12. The name stems from the World Wildlife Fund's Climate Savers program, which was launched in 1999(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ18m Battery). The WWF is also a member of the Computing Initiative.

The Green Electronics Council offers the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) to assist in the purchase of "greener" computing systems(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ11m Battery). The Council evaluates computing equipment on 51 criteria - 23 required and 28 optional - that measure a product's efficiency and sustainability attributes. Products are rated Gold(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ11z Battery), Silver or Bronze depending on how many optional criteria they meet. On 2007-01-24, President George W. Bush issued Executive Order 13423, which requires all United States Federal agencies to use EPEAT when purchasing computer systems(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ11l Battery).

The Green Grid is a global consortium dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in data centers and business computing ecosystems(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ140E Battery). It was founded in February 2007 by several key companies in the industry –AMD, APC, Dell, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Rackable Systems, SprayCool, Sun Microsystems and VMware(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ150E Battery). The Green Grid has since grown to hundreds of members, including end users and government organizations, all focused on improving data center efficiency(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ190 Battery).

The Green500 list rates supercomputers by energy efficiency (megaflops/watt, encouraging a focus on efficiency rather than absolute performance(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ460E Battery).

Green Comm Challenge is an organization that promotes the development of energy conservation technology and practices in the field of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Green Comm Challenge achieved worldwide notoriety in 2007(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ280E Battery), when it enlisted as one of the challengers in the 33rd edition of the America's Cup, an effort meant to show how researchers, technologists and entrepreneurs from around the world can be brought together by an exciting vision: building the ultimate renewable energy machine, a competitive America’s Cup boat(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ440N Battery).

The Transaction Processing Performance Council(TPC) Energy specification augments the existing TPC benchmarks by allowing for optional publications of energy metrics alongside their performance results(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ32 Battery).

The SPEC Power is the first industry standard benchmark that measures power consumption in relation to performance for server-class computers(sony vgp-bpl9 battery).

Approaches to green computing

In the article Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices, San Murugesan defines the field of green computing as "the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers(SONY vgp-bps9 battery), servers, and associated subsystems—such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems—efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ11S Battery)." Murugesan lays out four paths along which he believes the environmental effects of computing should be addressed: Green use, green disposal, green design, and green manufacturing(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ Battery).

Modern IT systems rely upon a complicated mix of people, networks and hardware; as such, a green computing initiative must cover all of these areas as well. A solution may also need to address end user satisfaction, management restructuring(SONY VGP-BPS8 battery), regulatory compliance, and return on investment (ROI). There are also considerable fiscal motivations for companies to take control of their own power consumption; "of the power management tools available, one of the most powerful may still be simple, plain, common sense(Sony VAIO PCG-5K1L battery)."

Product longevity

Gartner maintains that the PC manufacturing process accounts for 70 % of the natural resources used in the life cycle of a PC. Therefore, the biggest contribution to green computing usually is to prolong the equipment's lifetime(Sony VAIO PCG-6W2L battery). Another report from Gartner recommends to "Look for product longevity, including upgradability and modularity." For instance(Sony VAIO PCG-7112L battery), manufacturing a new PC makes a far bigger ecological footprintthan manufacturing a new RAM module to upgrade an existing one, a common upgrade that saves the user having to purchase a new computer(Sony VAIO PCG-8Z1L battery).

Software and deployment optimization

Algorithmic efficiency

The efficiency of algorithms has an impact on the amount of computer resources required for any given computing function and there are many efficiency trade-offs in writing programs(Sony VAIO PCG-8Z2L battery). While algorithmic efficiency does not have as much impact as other approaches, it is still an important consideration. A study by a physicist at Harvard, estimated that the average Google search released 7 grams of carbon dioxide (CO₂)(Sony VAIO PCG-8Y2L battery).However, Google disputes this figure, arguing instead that a typical search produces only 0.2 grams of CO₂(Sony VAIO PCG-8Y1L battery).

Resource allocation

Algorithms can also be used to route data to data centers where electricity is less expensive. Researchers from MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, and Akamai have tested an energy allocation algorithm that successfully routes traffic to the location with the cheapest energy costs(Sony VAIO PCG-7Z2L battery). The researchers project up to a 40 percent savings on energy costs if their proposed algorithm were to be deployed. Strictly speaking, this approach does not actually reduce the amount of energy being used; it only reduces the cost to the company using it(Sony VAIO PCG-7Z1L battery). However, a similar strategy could be used to direct traffic to rely on energy that is produced in a more environmentally friendly or efficient way. A similar approach has also been used to cut energy usage by routing traffic away from data centers experiencing warm weather(Sony VAIO PCG-7133L battery); this allows computers to be shut down to avoid using air conditioning.

Larger server centers are sometimes located where energy and land are inexpensive and readily available(Sony VAIO PCG-7113L battery). Local availability of renewable energy, climate that allows outside air to be used for cooling, or locating them where the heat they produce may be used for other purposes could be factors in green siting decisions(Sony VAIO PCG-6W3L battery).

Virtualization

Computer virtualization refers to the abstraction of computer resources, such as the process of running two or more logical computer systems on one set of physical hardware. The concept originated with the IBMmainframe operating systems of the 1960s, but was commercialized for x86-compatible computers only in the 1990s(Sony VAIO PCG-7111L battery). With virtualization, a system administrator could combine several physical systems into virtual machines on one single, powerful system, thereby unplugging the original hardware and reducing power and cooling consumption(Sony VAIO PCG-6W1L battery). Virtualization can assist in distributing work so that servers are either busy, or put in a low power sleep state. Several commercial companies and open-source projects now offer software packages to enable a transition to virtual computing. Intel Corporation and AMD have also built proprietaryvirtualization enhancements to the x86 instruction set into each of their CPU product lines, in order to facilitate virtualized computing(Sony VAIO PCG-6V1L battery).

Terminal servers

Terminal servers have also been used in green computing. When using the system, users at a terminal connect to a central server; all of the actual computing is done on the server, but the end user experiences the operating system on the terminal(Sony VAIO PCG-6S3L battery). These can be combined with thin clients, which use up to 1/8 the amount of energy of a normal workstation, resulting in a decrease of energy costs and consumption. There has been an increase in using terminal services with thin clients to create virtual labs(Sony VAIO PCG-6S2L battery). Examples of terminal server software include Terminal Services for Windows and the Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP) for the Linux operating system(Sony VAIO PCG-5L1L battery).

Power management

The Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI), an open industry standard, allows an operating system to directly control the power-saving aspects of its underlying hardware(Sony VAIO PCG-5K2L battery). This allows a system to automatically turn off components such as monitors and hard drives after set periods of inactivity. In addition, a system may hibernate, where most components (including the CPU and the system RAM) are turned off(Sony VAIO PCG-5J2L battery). ACPI is a successor to an earlier Intel-Microsoft standard called Advanced Power Management, which allows a computer's BIOS to control power management functions. Some programs allow the user to manually adjust the voltages supplied to the CPU(Sony VAIO PCG-5J1L battery), which reduces both the amount of heat produced and electricity consumed. This process is called undervolting(Sony VAIO PCG-5G3L battery). Some CPUs can automatically undervolt the processor depending on the workload; this technology is called "SpeedStep" on Intel processors, "PowerNow!"/"Cool'n'Quiet" on AMD chips, LongHaul on VIA CPUs, and LongRunwithTransmeta processors(Sony VAIO PCG-5G2L battery).

Data center power

Data centers, which have been criticized for its extraordinary high energy demand, are a primary focus for proponents of green computing. The federal government has set a minimum 10% reduction target for data center energy usage by 2011(Sony VGP-BPS21A/B battery). With the aid of a self-styled ultra efficient evaporative cooling technology, Google Inc. has been able to reduce its energy consumption to 50% of that of the industry average(Sony VGP-BPS21/S battery).

Operating system support

The dominant desktop operating system, Microsoft Windows, has included limited PC power management features since Windows 95. These initially provided for stand-by (suspend-to-RAM) and a monitor low power state(Sony VGP-BPS21B battery). Further iterations of Windows added hibernate (suspend-to-disk) and support for the ACPI standard(Sony VGP-BPS21 battery). Windows 2000 was the first NT based operating system to include power management. This required major changes to the underlying operating system architecture and a new hardware driver model(Sony VGN-FW31J battery). Windows 2000 also introduced Group Policy, a technology which allowed administrators to centrally configure most Windows features. However, power management was not one of those features(Sony VGP-BPS13A/S battery). This is probably because the power management settings design relied upon a connected set of per-user and per-machine binary registry values, effectively leaving it up to each user to configure their own power management settings(Sony VGP-BPS13B/S battery).

This approach, which is not compatible with Windows Group Policy, was repeated in Windows XP. The reasons for this design decision by Microsoft are not known, and it has resulted in heavy criticism Microsoft significantly improved this in Windows Vista by redesigning the power management system to allow basic configuration by Group Policy(Sony VGP-BPS13S battery). The support offered is limited to a single per-computer policy. The most recent release, Windows 7 retains these limitations but does include refinements for more efficient user of operating system timers, processor power management, and display panel brightness(Sony VGP-BPS13AS battery). The most significant change in Windows 7 is in the user experience. The prominence of the default High Performance power plan has been reduced with the aim of encouraging users to save power(Sony VGP-BPS13/B battery).

There is a significant market in third-party PC power management software offering features beyond those present in the Windows operating system. Most products offer Active Directory integration and per-user/per-machine settings with the more advanced offering multiple power plans, scheduled power plans, anti-insomnia features and enterprise power usage reporting(Sony VGP-BPS13/S battery).

Power supply

Desktop computer power supplies (PSUs) are generally 70–75% efficient, dissipating the remaining energy as heat. An industry initiative called 80 PLUS certifies PSUs that are at least 80% efficient(Sony VGP-BPS13A/B battery); typically these models are drop-in replacements for older, less efficient PSUs of the same form factor. As of July 20, 2007, all new Energy Star 4.0-certified desktop PSUs must be at least 80% efficient(Sony VGP-BPS13B/B battery).

Storage

Smaller form factor (e.g. 2.5 inch) hard disk drives often consume less power per gigabyte than physically larger drives. Unlike hard disk drives, solid-state drives store data in flash memory or DRAM. With no moving parts, power consumption may be reduced somewhat for low capacity flash based devices(Sony VGN-FZ11E battery).

In a recent case study, Fusion-io, manufacturers of the world's fastest Solid State Storage devices, managed to reduce the carbon footprint and operating costs of MySpace data centers by 80% while increasing performance speeds beyond that which had been attainable via multiple hard disk drives in Raid 0(Sony VGN-FZ430E battery). In response, MySpace was able to permanently retire several of their servers, including all their heavy-load servers, further reducing their carbon footprint(Sony VGN-FZ32 battery).

As hard drive prices have fallen, storage farms have tended to increase in capacity to make more data available online. This includes archival and backup data that would formerly have been saved on tape or other offline storage(Sony VGN-FZ440N battery). The increase in online storage has increased power consumption. Reducing the power consumed by large storage arrays, while still providing the benefits of online storage, is a subject of ongoing research(Sony VGN-FZ52B battery).

Video card

A fast GPU may be the largest power consumer in a computer.

Energy efficient display options include:

No video card - use a shared terminal, shared thin client, or desktop sharing software if display required(Sony VGN-FZ51B battery).

Use motherboard video output - typically low 3D performance and low power.

Select a GPU based on low idle power, average wattage or performance per watt.

Display

CRT monitors typically use more power than LCD monitors. They also contain significant amounts of lead(Sony VGN-FZ50B battery). LCD monitors typically use a cold-cathode fluorescent bulb to provide light for the display. Some newer displays use an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in place of the fluorescent bulb, which reduces the amount of electricity used by the display(Sony VGN-FZ340E/B battery). Fluorescent back-lights also contain mercury, whereas LED back-lights do not.

Materials recycling

Recycling computing equipment can keep harmful materials such as lead, mercury, and hexavalent chromium out of landfills, and can also replace equipment that otherwise would need to be manufactured, saving further energy and emissions(Sony VGN-FZ38 battery). Computer systems that have outlived their particular function can be re-purposed, or donated to various charities and non-profit organizations. However, many charities have recently imposed minimum system requirements for donated equipment(Sony VGN-FZ37 battery). Additionally, parts from outdated systems may be salvaged and recycled through certain retail outlets and municipal or private recycling centers. Computing supplies, such as printer cartridges, paper, and batteries may be recycled as well(Sony VGN-FZ35 battery).

A drawback to many of these schemes is that computers gathered through recycling drives are often shipped to developing countries where environmental standards are less strict than in North America and Europe(Sony VGN-FZ32B battery). The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition estimates that 80% of the post-consumer e-waste collected for recycling is shipped abroad to countries such as China and Pakistan(Sony Vaio VGN-FZ21J battery) .

The recycling of old computers raises an important privacy issue. The old storage devices still hold private information, such as emails, passwords and credit card numbers, which can be recovered simply by someone using software that is available freely on the Internet(Sony VGN-FZ140E battery). Deletion of a file does not actually remove the file from the hard drive. Before recycling a computer, users should remove the hard drive, or hard drives if there is more than one, and physically destroy it or store it somewhere safe(Sony VGN-FZ70B battery). There are some authorized hardware recycling companies to whom the computer may be given for recycling, and they typically sign a non-disclosure agreement(Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31J battery ).

Telecommuting

Teleconferencing and telepresence technologies are often implemented in green computing initiatives. The advantages are many; increased worker satisfaction, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions related to travel(Sony VGN-FZ145E battery), and increased profit margins as a result of lower overhead costs for office space, heat, lighting, etc. The savings are significant; the average annual energy consumption for U.S. office buildings is over 23 kilowatt hours per square foot(Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31B battery), with heat, air conditioning and lighting accounting for 70% of all energy consumed. Other related initiatives, such as hotelling(Sony VGN-FZ18L battery), reduce the square footage per employee as workers reserve space only when they need it. Many types of jobs, such as sales, consulting, and field service, integrate well with this technique(Sony VGN-FW11M battery).

Voice over IP (VoIP) reduces the telephony wiring infrastructure by sharing the existing Ethernet copper. VoIP and phone extension mobility also made hot desking more practical(Sony VGN-FW11 battery).

Education and Certification

There are a number of colleges that have individual green computing courses and institutions that offer certifications which indirectly encourage green computing techniques(Sony Vaio VGN-FZ18S battery). Full fledged green computing degree programs and certifications are currently in their infancy but should grow over time as their definition and importance mature(Sony Vaio VGN-FZ210CE battery).

Green Computing Degree Programs

Degree programs that provide training in a range of information technology concentrations along with sustainable strategies in an effort to educate students how to build and maintain systems while reducing its negative impact on the environment(Sony VGN-FZ230E battery).

Metropolitan Community College (Omaha) has an associates degree available in managing green data centers.

Leeds Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom offers a year long graduate course in Green Computing(Sony Vaio VGN-FZ21S battery).

Green computing certifications

Some certifications demonstrate that an individual has specific green computing knowledge, including(Sony Vaio VGN-FZ21E battery ):

CompTIA Strata Green IT is designed for IT managers to show that they have good knowledge of green IT practices and methods and why it is important to incorporate them into an organization(Sony VGN-FZ18 battery).

Information Systems Examination Board (ISEB) Foundation Certificate in Green IT is appropriate for showing an overall understanding and awareness of green computing and where its implementation can be beneficial(Sony VGN-FZ190 battery).