Corporate Culture...

Ah, the power of the PC -- or should I say the power consumption of the PC?

The average PC uses somewhere in the range of 600kw hours of electricity per year -- more if it is left on 24/7, an error that all too many computer users make.

If just one computer uses that much energy, imagine the cost of an entire network of computers. A business could have a dozen, a hundred, a thousand or ten thousand PCs on-site. And boy do they have a combined impact on an organization's electricity bill.

Wondering what to do about this? Smart companies are installing programs that can help manage and control PC power usage throughout their networks. NightWatchman from 1E and Surveyor from Verdiem seem to be two of the most popular. Each program lets companies set building-wide policies that send PCs into standby mode when they are not being used and turn all PCs on and off at certain times of the day. Unsaved data is saved before shutdowns, so users never have anything to worry about.

1E says companies using its product can save $50 per PC per year which dramatically saving greenhouse gases. Verdiem says its product can save $20-$60 per PC per year. Both companies say their programs pay for themselves in a matter of months.

By the way, individual users don't need to wait for corporate policy to take control of their PC's power usage. You can easily change several simple settings in Windows which could cut your PC power usage as much as 50%. A great article at PC World tells you how.

Give these solutions a try. We'll all breathe just a little bit easier.