save money

How Businesses Can Save 25% on Energy Costs: HP Introduces Tech to Cap Power Use of Data Centers

jplatt — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 08:00:00 -0500

Data centers and servers take up an increasingly large slice of the average company's electricity expenses. But HP has an idea on how to make those data centers more efficient.

Their new technology is called HP Dynamic Power Capping. Essentially, it lets IT managers decide the upper amount of energy specific servers will use, and "cap" that server at a lower energy level than it might otherwise demand.

HP says this more efficient energy management can result in savings of 25%.

Dynamic Power Capping had already been preloaded on many HP servers, but this is the first time that it is available on its own, as an add-on to any existing physical or virtual server. License fees range from $399 to $549 -- not too bad for what could amount to a substantial power savings.

Even Rechargeable Batteries Need Recycling -- Do You Know How?

jplatt — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:00:00 -0400

Have you ever used a rechargeable battery so many times it stops holding a charge? It happens. Even the best rechargeable batteries are only good for so many uses. And yes, when they're dead it's time to throw them out -- or turn them in for recycling.

Some communities have programs for recycling batteries, but not everyone knows how to use them, or where to find them. The best way to find the options nearest to you is the Call2Recycle program from the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation. By calling 800-8-BATTERY or using their web site, you can find the nearest battery or cellphone recycling program. I found two locations less than a mile from my house, neither of which I knew took batteries for recycling!

The site also contains great tips on getting the most use out of your rechargeable batteries, and a fun guide to finding all of the batteries in your house. (Remember, we're not just talking about AA batteries here, but batteries for laptops, cellphones, power tools, toys and more!).

So give it a try and let's keep those batteries from ending up in a landfill!

Calculate Your 'Water Footprint'

jplatt — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:09:44 -0400

Do you or any of your family members spend too much time in the shower? Are your toilets designed to save water? How about your faucets, are they installed with conservation in mind? How about your lawn...

Okay, let's just get to the real questions: How much water do you use on a daily basis? And how much can you conserve?

A group called H2O Conserve wants to help you answer those questions. Their new online water calculator not takes you through your direct water usage, but the water used to produce your food and other goods, to come up with what they call your Water Footprint.

It's this later side that many people don't think about. Says H2O Conserve: "Your water footprint includes other factors such as water utilized to cool power plants that provide your electricity, and water saved when you recycle. You may not drink, feel or see this water, but it makes up the great majority of your water footprint."

The water calculator is great fun, and takes about 5 minutes or less. When you're done, the site will present not only your water footprint (mine came up at over 1,000 gallons per day!), but what you can do to reduce it. The site contains dozens of great tips, any one of which can save you tens of gallons every single day.

Give it a try. You might be shocked by what you come up with.

New Rechargeable Battery Plugs Into Your Computer

jplatt — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:00:00 -0400

Have you already made the switch to recycleable batteries? Good, we knew that you did. We were just checking.

But here's another question: are you getting tired of carrying a battery charger with you when you travel, or searching for your charger when you need it every few months?

Moixa Energy has a solution. Their new USBCELL rechargeable batteries come with what you might call a pop top -- one end of the battery swivels off to reveal a USB plug. Just hook it into any USB port on a PC or laptop and your computer does the work of recharging the battery!

According to a recent article at GreentechMedia, there is a small cost to pay for this convenience: the USB plug takes up space that would normally hold power. As a result, the USBCELL holds 1300-1500 milliamp hours, as opposed to the 2500 in a regular nickel metal hydride battery.

Oh, one other possible inconvenience: USBCELL comes with a bit of software that could, depending on how it is configured by the manufacturer, pop up ads or energy-saving tips on your PC every time you plug the battery in.

So far, Moixa's batteries are only available in AA size. They ship from the UK, and run £10.99 for a set of 2 batteries (with delivery, that translates to $20). You can also get a "gift set" of 20 batteries for about $165.

Green Your Workspace with New Online Tool

jplatt — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:00:00 -0400

One of my core beliefs is that one person can make a difference. That's true at home, in the community, at play or at work.

Speaking of work, the EPA's ENERGY STAR program has launched a great new website called Energy Star @ Work. It offers any employee, executive, building manager or small business the tools and information they need to make their office and workplace greener and more energy efficient.

Some of the recommendations are nothing new -- use CFL bulbs, for example -- and others are obvious choices for the sponsor of the site -- buy ENERGY STAR qualified monitors. But the site is full of all kinds of other ideas that look at everything from heating and cooling and reducing waste to setting up "green teams" at work.

One of the site's highlights is an interactive tour of the average office, which offers some unexpected ways to save energy.

Check out the Energy Star @ Work site at http://www.energystar.gov/work. It's worth a look, and it could help you make a difference.

Lenovo Introduces Six New Green Computer Monitors

jplatt — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 09:00:00 -0400

Lenovo this week announced six new energy-efficient computer monitors in its ThinkVision product line.

The LCD monitors, which go on sale soon, have a fairly wide range of environmental innovations. All use various techniques to reduce their power consumption by 30-60%. The monitors are also EPEAT Gold rated and GREENGUARD certified, according to the company, and some are packaged in 65% recycled materials.

On the low end of these new monitors, Lenovo's new L1700p (available next week at $239.99) uses 30% less power and 50% less mercury compared to other models on the market. On the higher end, the L2440x (available soon at $749.99) will actually be made without mercury, a real step forward for LCD screens.

The L2440x news doesn't stop there: it will use LED backlighting to further reduce its energy use, down to just 29 watts. Wow.

Some of these models are already available from Lenovo's web store. Check 'em out.

Energy-Efficient Freezers Help You Store Organic, Local Food All Year Round

jplatt — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:13:49 -0400

We're off to a big organic food festival this weekend, and plan on coming home with a trunk full of local fruits and vegetables -- more than we can eat any time soon, but enough to keep us in good, local eats all winter long.

But before we can do that, we need to buy a new freezer. Our goal for this week is to pick up a dedicated unit (not a fridge-freezer combo), preferably a chest freezer like the one illustrated here.

Chest freezers, which have a lid on the top of of the unit rather than on the side, are 10% to 25% more efficient than upright freezers, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

According to the ACEEE, the most energy-efficient chest freezers on the market today at the Whirlpool EH151FXR (around $425) and the DC-powered SunDanzer (around $1,000).

The ENERGY STAR program offers several tips for buying energy-effienct fridges and freezers. (ENERGY STAR also recently upgraded its criteria for refrigerators, so the newest models are even more efficient than they were just six months ago.)

I don't recommend picking up a freezer unless you're going to stock enough food to fill it. But if you live in a area like me (coastal Maine) where the winters and long and local food is hard to come by, then a freezer could end up being your best friend.

Track Your Energy Use by the Second with The Energy Detective

jplatt — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:48:00 -0400

How much electricity do you use when you turn on a light? When you're watching TV? When you wash your dishes? How about if you're doing all three at once?

The Energy Detective ("TED" for short) from Energy, Inc., can answer these questions, helping you not only to see how much electricity you are using in your house at any given moment, but also to predict the size of your monthly electric bill.

Once hooked up, TED monitors your electricity usage, with just a two-second real-time delay. It also tracks your monthly usage, and calculates the exact amount you are spending on your electricity.

The basic TED unit costs $139.95 (more advanced models run up to $209.95) and can be installed in 10-15 minutes ("by an experienced homeowner or qualified electrician"). You can also order additional software called Footprints ($44.95) which allows you to track your usage on your PC.

So why install a TED? An energy monitor like this allows you to see exactly how much juice your house is using. Hook it up, and then you can walk around your house to see how much difference your TV makes, or find the "phantom loads" of so-called "vampire devices," the ones that keep using energy even though you think they are "off." The company says a well-aware homeowner can use the information from TED to make the device pay for itself in a matter of months.

5 Ways to Green Your PC -- Without Spending a Penny

jplatt — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:25:46 -0400

How many hours a day do you spend on your PC? Two? Four? Eight? Twelve? (Okay, I'm not quite that bad, but I do average about 8 hours a day.)

PCs -- especially desktops -- can use a fair amount of electricity, even more so when you start adding on extra devices. Newer PCs tend to be more energy-efficient, but you don't need to buy a new PC just to save a few dollars on electricity. There are a few things you can do that won't cost you more than a few seconds of your time...

1. Let it sleep -- As you've probably heard by now, a screensaver doesn't really save your computer from using any energy when it's not in use. Instead, go into your control panels and select "power options." Here, you can set an amount of time when your monitor or your entire PC will shut down if it's not in use. Try 10-15 minutes. That should do it.

You can also install a free program called Edison which can help to manage your PC's energy needs even more.

(BTW, if you're going to be away from your desk for more than 15 minutes, it's probably best to just turn your computer off.)

2. Let it breathe -- Look at the location of your computer. Is there enough room around it for air to flow freely? Computers burn hot, and most still need internal fans to cool them off. The more circulation there is around your computer, the less heat it will retain, and the less your fan will need to run. Keep your computer cool and it will keep your energy bill a bit lower.

3. Turn things off -- Too often our scanners, printers and other peripherals stay on for hours and hours when we're not using them. They don't need to be on, so turn them off.

4. Really turn things off -- Of course, many devices keep using electricity even though they are "off." Standby mode might make a device respond faster when it's needed, but it keeps sucking in electricity until that time. If you only use your scanner or printer occassionally, totally unplug them or turn off your surge protector until you need them.

5. Run anti-spyware programs often -- No matter how safe you think you are, evil little programs have a tendency to install themselves on your PC when you're not looking. The worst of the malware bunch can turn your computer into a zombie, using its memory to send out malicious spam emails without your knowledge. A busy piece of malware can keep your PC hopping for hours on end. Put a stop to them by finding and removing the programs.

There you go! Hopefully these simple tips will save you a little bit of energy and help you go a bit greener without having to buy a new computer first.

Fridge Door Open Too Long? Sound the Alarm!

jplatt — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:21:51 -0400

Does anyone in your house have an annoying tendency to stand in front of the fridge with the door open? Do your kids or your husband spend long minutes searching through the refrigerator or the freezer, letting the cold air out and wasting electricity?

Well, there's a solution. Many new refrigerators (like this Frigidaire) come with "door ajar" alams. If the door is open too long, the alarm sounds a reminder to shut it. This keeps the interior of the fridge from warming up and saves you a lot of energy that you would need to cool it back down again.

Of course, not every fridge has this feature, and no matter how bad your family member(s) may be, you don't need to buy a new fridge just to get an alarm.

If your current fridge doesn't have a door ajar alarm, you can also buy a simple magnetic door or window alarm and attach it to your fridge. These can be set to go off instantly or a few seconds after the door opens.

If you're industrious, you can also build your own alarm circuit (method 1, method 2).

By the way, this is also a great tool for dieters! Set the alarm to its shortest time possible -- or set it to go off as soon as the door is opened!