Abstract Sleeping in class isn't allowed...unless you're a computer! In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggests that putting your school's computers to sleep when they're not in use might reduce a school's energy bill significantly. In a study done at the North Thurston public schools in Olympia, Washington, EPA officials worked with the district to cut computer energy and costs by approximately $45,000 annually! How? By implementing a variety of power-management strategies for the district's 4,000 computers. The EPA defines power management as a series of features available on current Windows and Mac operating systems that "place monitors and computers (CPU's, hard drives, etc.) into a low-power 'sleep mode' after a period of inactivity. Simply touching the mouse or keyboard 'wakes' the computer and monitor in seconds."Would implementing power management at your school save energy and money? How much? What power-management settings would be best for your school? Are there any down sides to the various power-management settings? Do some background reading about power management, then gather the information you need, like the number of computers in your school and when they're used, and try the free calculators in the Bibliography to estimate energy and cost savings. How similar are the estimates from the various calculators? Is it worth trying power management at your school? Can you convince your school administrators, based on the results from the calculators? If your school does switch to power management, see if you can determine how accurate the calculator estimates were. One rough estimate would be to ask school administrators if they can help you compare energy usage between this year and the year before. Note: Make sure you're comparing the same months, as energy usage often fluctuates with seasons, too. Bibliography The details of the North Thurston Public School District case study can be found here:
An overview of what power management is can be found at:
This resource contains a list of freely available energy calculators and applications for deciding if power management makes sense and how to implement it:
Shop for Supplies at Science Buddies Online Store
|
 |
Related LinksProject Summary
Donate to Science Buddies
Sponsor
|
I Did This Project!
Career Focus
If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring related careers.
 |
Network Systems & Data Communications Analyst Computers are an important part of our lives. We use computers to hold and process data, to control manufacturing factories, and to surf the Internet. We are all part of many different kinds of computer networks that are continually sharing information. The role of the network systems and data communications analyst is to design, model, and evaluate computer networks so that they can share information seamlessly. This is an exciting career for those people who enjoy working with rapidly changing technology. |
 |
Economist Every country has resources—people, land, raw materials, capital, and machinery—and economists study how those resources are distributed to create the goods that people buy, and the services people need or want. In their studies, economists monitor economic trends and collect data on things like energy costs, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, business cycles, taxes, and employment levels. Based on their analysis of this data, they develop forecasts of economic activity so that businesses and governments can better plan for the future. | |
 |
Energy Engineer How much energy do you think all the houses and buildings in the United States consume? It turns out they eat up 40% of all the energy that the U.S. uses in a year. The figure is high because all those houses and buildings need to be heated, cooled, lit, ventilated, and supplied with heated water and electricity to run all sorts of electrical devices, appliances, and computers. Energy efficiency engineers help reduce the energy that houses and buildings use. This saves families and businesses money, and lowers the emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. |
 |
Sustainability Specialist Are you passionate about the environment? Do you like developing and implementing new ideas? Do you enjoy talking with people about how humans impact nature? If these things are true about you, then you may be the ideal candidate for a job as a sustainability specialist. Sustainability specialists work in large and small corporations and universities to design and execute energy and resource conservation programs that reduce their employers' impact on the environment. This is a great career for people who enjoy working on teams, are socially responsible, and like to get things done! | |
|
Join Science Buddies
Become a Science Buddies member! It's free! As a member you will be the first to receive our new and innovative project ideas, news about upcoming science competitions, science fair tips, and information on other science related initiatives.
Support Science Buddies
If this website has helped you, won't you consider a small gift so we may continue developing resources to help teachers and students?
|
