Idle Computers Cost Companies $2.8 Billion Annually
With layoffs continuing and unemployment rates hitting record highs, companies have been radically cutting costs since last fall. A new report reveals an unexpected way to cut costs that doesn't involve any firings: Turn off company computers at night. Conducted by 1E (an energy-management software company) and the Alliance to Save Energy, the 2009 PC Energy report estimates that U.S., U.K., and German companies are losing $2.8 billion annually because of idle, plugged-in computers running overnight.
According to the study, over half of the estimated 108 million PCs in U.S. offices are left running after hours. 1E CEO Sumir Karayi told USAToday, "Workers do not feel responsible for electricity bills at work, and some companies insist PCs remain on at night so they can be patched with software updates." Employees surveyed in the report offered many excuses, ranging from forgetfulness and long shut-down times to the need to access the computer remotely. Others simply mentioned company policies that require employees to keep their computers running (software/hardware updates are often carried out after-hours). The cost isn't just a simple dollar amount, either; the study compares the 20 million tons of carbon dioxide predicted to be emitted by these computers in 2009 to the environmental impact of 4 million cars.
If it's not against company policy, we suggest taking the time to shut down your computer before you leave the office. Similarly, you can save on your own home power bills by shutting down your gadgets when you're done for the day; at the very least you won't have to worry about blinking gadget lights keeping you up all through the night. [From: USA Today]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
paul said 6:40PM on 3-29-2009
What twit works for Microsoft and couldn't be bothered to code an automated shutdown setting into the energy/power saver control panel? Not in XP, not in Vista. The Mac has had one since the mid-90s.
Of course, what twit IT would recommend Microsoft to gently suck any kind of productivity or profit from a firm. Self-serving job-security-seeking It support staff maybe. Who else. Microsoft is such a waste of budget.
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Mekhong Kurt said 1:49AM on 3-30-2009
As Paul notes, it should be possible to establish an automated shutdown and, assuming a company has all it's computers connected to each other, to have the intranet set up so that a single employee could come him, turn on one computer, and have every other computer fire up at the same time.
Though my memory is hazy and the details of the story are long since forgotten, I remember reading some time back about a study of the costs involved in having employees turn off their computers before heading home for the day, costs including (to name but two) lost productivity and employees' salaries. An automated shutdown would eliminate the first, and having to pay only a single employee to turn on the network the next day virtually eliminates the second, even in quite small organizations.
I mention that story because purely in terms of direct costs, we have to compare the two -- the costs from leaving computers on versus the costs from shutting them down. Of course, such a comparison ignores any environmental impacts and costs resulting from those, granted.
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Laptop Bags said 3:17AM on 3-31-2009
I'm a firm believer in turning off and unplugging, but I didn't realize that this much electricity and money was wasted.
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