ePowerSaver - A Computer Power Saving Solution for Your Organization
There are three choices when it comes to manual operation to save energy on the desktop computer, each with its own pros and cons:
- Standby (aka suspend). It reduces the computer's power usage by shutting down some non-critical systems and throttling back the critical ones (CPU, Network). When revived, the PC recovers quickly, as the current state is stored in RAM. The operating system does not go through the boot process. It is not for long-term use.
- Hibernate The current state of the machine is saved to a file on the hard drive, and the machine draws no power. When revived, the PC takes longer to recover but is returned to the original state. The operating system does not go through the boot process. Hibernation is for long-term use and save more energy than Standby
- Shut Down The machine is completely shut down, and the current state is not saved. When power is restored, the operating system must go through the boot process. Shut Down is for long-term use
When employees leave for the day, they often leave their computers on so when they return to their workstations, they can instantly pick up where they left off. Although this may be convenient, during non-use hours the PCs and monitors are still consuming power.
It is a required in some organizations to leave the computers on all the time, so IT operations can release necessary service patches when needed.
All in all, it's not an automated operation and requires user manual operation and discipline.
Wouldn't it be nice if our computer is inteligent enough to turn itself off when it's not being used and turn itself back on just before it is needed?
FACTS: An idle computer wasted average 798 KWh of eletricity over a year! The sum of the greenhouse gas emissions is equivalent to:
- 573 Kg (1,263 pounds) of carbon dioxide(CO2) equivalent
- Carbon sequestered by 14.7 tree seedlings grown for 10 years
- Carbon sequestered by 0.13 acres of pine or fir forests
- $148 power bill at rate of A$0.15 per KWh
Our solution to make computer user life easier and save energy is ePowerSaver! A solution which automated the manual operation by WISePowerScheduler, which uses computer's inteligence to perform power management.
The WISePowerScheduler has following main features:
- Configurable Weekly Schduler, Daily Schduler, Ad Hoc Schduler and Special Event Constraints
- Scheduler for computer monitor power lever control - Off/On/Low Power Mode
- Scheduler for computer power lever control - Hibernation and Resume Power Level
- Scheduler for computer power lever control - Standby and Resume Power Level
- Scheduling the execution of specified programs
- Automatically log current user out at specified time
- Shut down and reboot computer at specified time
- Scheduling to send Wake on LAN request to specified computer
- Computer energy consumption monitoring(working in progress)
The ePowerSaver consists of following components:
- WISePowerScheduler
- Console Application & Demo[free]. It can be download from here
- UI to manage the WISePowerScheduler
- Monitor Power Management Console Application
- WakeOnLAN Console Application
As a matter of fact, over the course of a year around 70% of your computer power bill is paid for weekends and over the nights when your desktop computer is idle, doing nothing.