Skip to main content

Homepage Header Links

  • About ENERGY STAR
  • Partner Resources

Homepage Header Search box

 
ENERGY STAR
  • Energy Efficient Products

    energy efficient products

    ENERGY STAR products are independently certified to save energy without sacrificing features or functionality. Saving energy helps prevent climate change. Look for the ENERGY STAR label to save money on your energy bills and help protect our environment.

    • Find ENERGY STAR Products
    • Energy Savings at Home
    • Take the Pledge
    • Learn about Climate Change

    • Ways to Save

    • Tax Credits

    • Ask an Expert

    • Heat and Cool Efficiently

    How can we help you?

    • How can I make my home entertainment center more energy efficient?
    • What should I know about LED lights?
    • I'd like to know about power management.
    • How can I reduce hot water use in my home?

    Quick Links

    • Where does my money go?
    • Set and Save with ENERGY STAR
    • Product Finder
    • Rebate Finder
    • Best Value Finder
    • Find ENERGY STAR Products
    • Energy Savings at Home
    • Take the Pledge
    • Learn about Climate Change
  • Energy Savings At Home

    energy savings at home

    Improving your home's energy efficiency with ENERGY STAR can help to lower high energy bills, improve comfort and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Learn about the many ways to save in your home and track your progress with "My ENERGY STAR" - your new dashboard to savings.

    • Start Saving Now
    • Take the Pledge
    • Home Assessment Tools
    • Seal and Insulate Your Home
    • Learn about ENERGY STAR Products
    • Learn about Home Performance with ENERGY STAR

    • Ways to Save
    • Happy couple looking at ENERGY STAR Home Advisor on their laptop
      Home Assessment Tools

    • Heat and Cool Efficiently

    • Tax Credits

    How can we help you?

    • I want help with improving my home's comfort and efficiency
    • How can I heat and cool my home efficiently?
    • How can I stop drafts?
    • I'd like to know about power management for my computer.
    • How do I choose the right lighting for my home?
    • I'm upgrading my kitchen appliances. What should I know?

    Quick Links

    • Home Improvement FAQs
    • HVAC Maintenance Tips
    • For Home Improvement Contractors
    • ENERGY STAR Choose a Light Guide
    • My ENERGY STAR Dashboard
    ​
    • Start Saving Now
    • Take the Pledge
    • Home Assessment Tools
    • Seal and Insulate Your Home
    • Learn about ENERGY STAR Products
    • Learn about Home Performance with ENERGY STAR
  • Energy Efficient New Homes

    new homes & apartments

    A new home or apartment that has earned the ENERGY STAR label has undergone a process of inspections, testing, and verification to meet strict requirements set by the US EPA. ENERGY STAR certified homes and apartments use significantly less energy than typical new homes and apartments while delivering better comfort, quality, and durability.

    • Find Builders and Incentives
    • Home Features and Benefits
    • Homeowner Testimonials
    • Resources for Partners

    • Find ENERGY STAR Home Builders

    • ENERGY STAR
      Home Features
      and Benefits

    • Homeowner Testimonials

    • Find an Energy Efficient Apartment

    How can we help you?

    • Features of an energy efficient new home
    • Benefits of living in an ENERGY STAR certified home
    • I want to buy an ENERGY STAR certified home
    • I want to construct an ENERGY STAR certified home
    • I want to find an ENERGY STAR apartment

    Quick Links

    • Builder and Incentive Locator
    • In the News
    • Green Homes and ENERGY STAR
    • Energy Efficient Mortgage Programs
    • Find Energy Efficient Certified Apartments and Condos
    • Find Builders and Incentives
    • Home Features and Benefits
    • Homeowner Testimonials
    • Resources for Partners
  • Energy Strategies for Buildings & Plants

    buildings & plants

    Improve financial performance and reduce carbon emissions with EPA's strategic energy management approach.

    • Facility Owners & Managers
    • Service Providers
    • Energy Efficiency Program Administrators
    • Tenants
    • Tools & Resources

    • Portfolio Manager
    • Find Certified Buildings

    • National Building Competition

    • Find Expert Help

    How can we help you?

    • Build an energy program
    • Improve buildings & plant performance
    • Earn the ENERGY STAR & other recognition
    • Benchmark energy use
    • ENERGY STAR in action
    • Communicate & educate

    Quick Links

    • Portfolio Manager
    • Target Finder
    • Plant EPIs
    • Commercial Food Service
    • Tools & Resources
    • Facility Owners & Managers
    • Energy Efficiency Program Administrators
The simple choice for energy efficiency.

You are here

Home » Certified Products » Ways to Reduce IT Energy Costs » The Business Case for Power Management » Success Stories

Certified Products

Your source for energy efficient product information
  • All Certified Products

    Appliances

    • Air Purifiers (Cleaners)
    • Clothes Dryers
    • Clothes Washers
    • Commercial Clothes Washers
    • Dehumidifiers
    • Dishwashers
    • Freezers
    • Refrigerators

    Building Products

    • Residential Windows, Doors and Skylights
    • Roof Products
    • Seal and Insulate

    Commercial Food Service Equipment

    • Commercial Dishwashers
    • Commercial Fryers
    • Commercial Griddles
    • Commercial Hot Food Holding Cabinets
    • Commercial Ice Makers
    • Commercial Ovens
    • Commercial Refrigerators & Freezers
    • Commercial Steam Cookers

    Electronics

    • Audio/Video
    • Professional Displays
    • Set-top Boxes & Cable Boxes
    • Slates and Tablets
    • Telephones
    • Televisions

    Heating & Cooling

    • Air-Source Heat Pumps
    • Boilers
    • Central Air Conditioner
    • Ductless Heating & Cooling
    • Furnaces
    • Geothermal Heat Pumps
    • Light Commercial Heating & Cooling
    • Room Air Conditioner
    • Ventilation Fans

    Lighting

    • Ceiling Fans
    • Commercial Light Fixtures
    • Decorative Light Strings
    • Light Bulbs
    • Light Fixtures

    Office Equipment

    • Computers
    • Data Center Storage
    • Enterprise Servers
    • Imaging Equipment
    • Large Network Equipment
    • Monitors
    • Small Network Equipment
    • Uninterruptible Power Supplies
    • Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Phones

    Other

    • Pool Pumps
    • Vending Machines
    • Water Coolers

    Water Heaters

    • Commercial Water Heaters
    • Heat Pump Water Heaters
    • High Efficiency Gas Storage Water Heaters
    • Solar Water Heaters
    • Whole Home Tankless Gas Water Heaters
  • Appliances
  • Lighting
  • Office Equipment
  • Electronics
  • Product Specifications Search

Success Stories

Hundreds of leading organizations have activated system standby and hibernate settings, using a wide range of methods and tools. Here are a few of their stories:

  • Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 made it easy for the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh (PDF, 274 KB) to reduce computer power consumption organization-wide.
  • GlaxoSmithKline (PDF, 150KB) will save nearly $1 million a year after activating computer sleep features using a free Windows utility.
  • Verizon (PDF, 776KB) is activating power management features on 185,000 PCs to save $7 million net of project costs.
  • United States Air Force (PDF, 307KB) will save $15 million through power management and specifying ENERGY STAR computers.
  • FedEx (PDF, 323KB) will reduce energy costs by approximately $1 million annually by activating sleep features on 20,000 PCs.
  • The State of Hawaii (PDF, 245KB) battled high energy costs with computer power management by deploying EZ GPO in a ZENworks environment.
  • Employees of the US Dept. of Energy (PDF, 149KB) built a broad coalition of support for computer power management that ultimately saved US taxpayers $16 million.
  • Dell cut energy use by 40% using 1E NightWatchman and SMSWakeUp software on its desktop and notebook computers.
  • Fusion Trade Inc. (PDF, 508KB) saved $70 per PC using EZ GPO and Windows Task Scheduler to accomodate nighttime updates.
  • General Electric (PDF, 155KB) activated system standby on 75,000 computers to save $2.5 million annually.
  • Yale University (PDF, 141KB) saves over $40 per PC by shutting down their PCs after hours, waking them only for nighttime backups and software updates.
  • North Thurston Public Schools (PDF, 138KB) used the EZ GPO tool to activate computer power management and save $45,000 annually.
  • Spring Branch Independent School District (WORD, 100KB) activated Windows sleep settings on 7,000 computers and monitors, and is now saving $230,000 annually.

Quick Links

  • Ways to Reduce IT Energy Costs
  • Put your computers to sleep
    • Estimate your PC power management savings (EXCEL, 65.54 KB)
  • Contact our technical experts
  • Choose energy efficient IT equipment
  • Save energy in the data center
  • Benchmark your data center's energy efficiency
  • Reduce peripheral energy consumption
  • Utility Guide for Designing Incentive Programs Focused on Data Center Efficiency Measures

New London Public Schools Saves $90k per Year by Shutting Down Idle Computers Read More …

New London Public Schools Saves $90k per Year by Shutting Down Idle Computers

Would you leave every light in your school building burning when you walked out the door each afternoon?  Probably not, but that’s often what happens with computers.  They sit idle, drawing power and costing you money – as much as $50 per computer each year, possibly more.

This is precisely the point that resonated with New London Public Schools CIO Tim Wheeler and Business Manager Maria Z. Whalen when their IT consultant, Michael Mazzariello, brought it to their attention.  Recognizing an opportunity to save money, they assigned Pat Lannon, Technology Manager, to the case.

Like most schools districts, New London Public Schools operates a pretty diverse collection of IT assets.  PCs, iPads, Macs, Chromebooks, and various servers all have important roles to play in an educational setting, but maintaining so many different computing platforms poses challenges for IT administrators like Pat.  Each machine needs periodic software updates, security patches, antivirus scans, and backups.  At first blush, adding energy management to this long list of system maintenance tasks can seem like an unnecessary complication.

“While a few employees leave their computers on because they access their desktop remotely from home, most employees either forget, they decide against shutting it down because it takes too long, or they simply do not feel responsible for electricity bills at work,” says Michael Mazzariello. 

In an ideal world, everyone would simply shut down their computer at the end of the school day.  Wishful thinking!  Busy kids, teachers, and administrators have a lot on their plates, and people forget.

That’s why Michael recommended SyAM Software, which helps administrators manage their IT assets – including power consumption.  Once deployed, SyAM provided Pat Lannon with a very easy way to configure each computer — no matter what platform (Microsoft, Apple, Chrome, etc.) — to automatically shut down at 6 PM every weekday.  It’s also made it easy to exclude a handful of computers that needed to stay on for remote access or for other reasons.

Small by school district standards, (just 5 school buildings and a central office), New London Public Schools still operates over 2600 computers and tablets.  By shutting off these machines every night, Pat is saving nearly 525,000 kilowatt hours over the course of a year, reducing energy costs by approximately $90,000.  For cash strapped schools, that’s meaningful savings.  For students, it’s meaningful in other ways, because saving energy also means reducing pollution.  Thanks to the actions of Pat and Michael, their school district is eliminating 362 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually.


Carroll County Public Schools Activates Power Management on 11,000 Computers Read More …

Carroll County Public Schools

The ENERGY STAR Low Carbon IT campaign asks organizations to commit to activating “sleep” settings on their computers using network tools. In 2013, Carroll County Public Schools (near Baltimore, Maryland) submitted one of the largest pledges to this campaign — 11,000 computers. Carroll County Public Schools’ Technology Service Department activated sleep settings on all their computers at once utilizing Microsoft Group Policy.

“Carroll County Public Schools is a willing participant in the financial and environmental benefits of reducing energy consumption. We know that this is an area of great interest in our student and greater community and it is something we take very seriously.” – Gary Davis, Chief Information Officer

Not new to energy efficiency in the IT space, Carroll County Public School’s current sustainability effort also includes:

  • Printer consolidation with power saving mode standards
  • Data center virtualization and equipment replacement
  • Replacing CRT monitors with more energy efficient LCD monitors

A conscientious participant in energy savings initiatives for many years, Carroll County Public Schools has also employed facilities—wide programs through the Johnson Controls Energy Performance Contract. These have included efficient climate control systems and the installation of geothermal HVAC systems in new school construction. Carroll County Public Schools is a willing partner in the financial and environmental benefits of reducing energy consumption.

Main menu

  • Energy Efficient Products
    • Find ENERGY STAR Products
    • Energy Savings at Home
    • Take the Pledge
    • Learn about Climate Change
  • Energy Savings At Home
    • Start Saving Now
    • Take the Pledge
    • Home Assessment Tools
    • Seal and Insulate Your Home
    • Learn about ENERGY STAR Products
    • Learn about Home Performance with ENERGY STAR
  • Energy Efficient New Homes
    • Find Builders and Incentives
    • Home Features and Benefits
    • Homeowner Testimonials
    • Resources for Partners
  • Energy Strategies for Buildings & Plants
    • Facility Owners & Managers
    • Service Providers
    • Energy Efficiency Program Administrators
    • Tenants
    • Tools & Resources

Homepage Footer last menu

  • ENERGY STAR Home
  • About ENERGY STAR
  • Recursos en Español
  • Publications
  • Partner Resources
  • Contact Us | FAQs
  • Newsroom
  • Kids
  • Privacy
  • US EPA logo
    EPA Home
  • US DOE logo
    DOE Home