Go Green & Save Money

What is a green computing? It is the study and practice of using computing resources efficiently. Every company is trying to implement some measure of a green computing solution with regards to the environment and save money in the process. We have done a comparison study using Thin Client Terminals and standard PCs with a Server in both cases. The maximum power output has been used in the study as a worst case scenario so the actual usage may vary and should be less then the calculated figures. The results were quite remarkable, showing a huge difference between a standard and a green solution.

The comparison was carried out between four Standard PCs plus a Server versus four Thin Client Terminals plus a Server. Thin Client Terminals have no moving parts, such as, fans, hard drives, CD/DVD ROM; therefore have an extended life over a conventional PC. The solution using Terminals instead of PCs means fewer failures, all data centrally stored and backed up, plus central management and the best thing of all, Terminals are cheaper than PCs and have a very low running cost. They are kind to the environment by using less power, so the overall solution is win-win all around.

Click here to see an example solution.

If a green solution is put in place, savings are about two thirds of the cost of a standard solution. Data has been calculated on a yearly basis using the following  formula:

Cost = (power in kilowatts) x (use per day) x 365 x (cost per kWh) where the cost of power has been taken at $0.20 per kWh

Based on the example solution above you would expect a saving of 66% of the cost of electricity over a year, which comes out to $874.95 a year or $2624.85 over 3 years which is about the life expectancy of an average PC.

By using Terminals the cost of electricity comes out to less than $1 per day per Terminal. As maximum figures were used, the actual costs may vary and turn out to be much less than the calculated values.

Note: Power consumption and costs may vary slightly on products from different manufacturers and energy suppliers.

For more information on Green Solutions

Here is a websites to visit

www.eeca.govt.nz