Energy Efficient IT Solutions on the UCD Campus
UC Davis’ information technology (IT ) energy consumption was evaluated by three MBA students as part of a larger effort currently underway by Energy Efficiency Center Emerging Venture Analysts (Tracy Hsieh, Tai Stillwater, and Siva Gunda). For a full project description of the broader effort see Watts Up. This study was conducted as part of the Community Consulting Group(CCG),a Graduate School of Management (GSM) initiative whereby MBA students volunteer their time consulting to non-profit organizations. First year MBA students, Hilary Hobbs and Erdem Savasir along with Working Professional MBA student, Jason Orta, completed the initial survey and analysis. The CCG team, advised by GSM Professor, Andrew Hargadon, started the project in fall 2008 and concluded at the end of winter 2009. The main goals of the group were to measure and analyze actual energy usage on campus and search for existing and improved approaches in energy efficiency (for example, use of Energy Star approved computing technology). The CCG team hopes this report will influence the policies of UC Davis IT managers in, not only purchasing decisions, but everyday use of equipment. They hope IT managers will lead the charge and spur further improvements in energy efficiency in computing solutions, moving the campus towards a more sustainable energy future.
The report estimated that the University electric bill for computers, monitors, and data centers alone is over $2.3 million. They estimated that with some basic changes in efficient computing technology, hundreds of thousands of dollars could be saved as well as a greatly reduce overall electricity use on campus. The team will create general guidelines for campus IT efficiency. The team selected a sample of three departments in order to test efficient products and assess general energy consumption. The four components the team established were:
1. Best practices and solutions research to investigate previous programs and existing
technologies with proven success at delivering efficient computing.
2. Measurement and estimation of current consumption in two example departments
3. Financial, energy, and carbon analysis of the proposed solutions.
4. Qualitative study of decision-making practices and hurdles to adopting energy efficiency IT
The
overall recommendations of
the team were: 1) utilization of Energy Star computers and monitors, 2)
switching to energy efficient servers, 3) using thin client networks,
4) establishing power management software, and 5) adjusting server room
temperature. Initializing Energy Star computers and establishing power
management software alone could reduce energy bills up to $70K and
reduce CO2 by
over 110 tons. The team estimated that the initial investment cost for
all recommended changes would be less than $49K and the energy savings
alone would repay that investment in just the first 8 months.
The main problem moving forward, according to the CCG group and study results, will be convincing University IT managers and decision makers to shift their current way of thinking. As one IT manager noted, “We have money for projects [to promote Efficiency within Departments], but departments need to come forth with projects and challenge the administration to pay for them. . . .What we need is a culture shift.” Until energy efficiency is seen as a cultural norm in the University and among its students, staff, and contractor population there is serious barrier to overcome. The CCG group is hoping that this initial report will spur further dialogue between the IT mangers and University administration in hopes of establishing a viable energy efficient system.