General Technical Overview of Power Management

ENERGY STAR Power Management features — standard in Windows and Macintosh operating systems — place monitors and computers (CPU, hard drive, 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. Activating sleep features saves energy, money, and helps protect the environment.

There are many ways to activate sleep features across entire networks of computers, including free solutions that utilize open source software and/or tools that you may already have at your disposal. Alternatively, a number of commercial software packages offer more feature-rich solutions for a fee, and may deliver more energy savings. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can help you determine the best way to activate power management features in your IT environment.

To maximize power savings, EPA recommends setting computers to enter system standby or hibernate after 30 to 60 minutes of inactivity. To save even more, set monitors to enter sleep mode after 5 to 20 minutes of inactivity. The lower the setting, the more energy you save.

On laptops, be sure to activate these settings in the AC power profile — not just the DC (battery power) profile.

Hundreds of leading organizations have activated system standby and hibernate settings. Read how GE, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, North Thurston Public Schools and others are saving as much as $75 per computer annually.

For more information, including detailed savings estimates, activation instructions, and software tools, chose a link:

• Enterprises (any organization with an IT manager)
• Individual computer users (individuals or small businesses without an IT manager)

Purchasing ENERGY STAR qualified computers and monitors can save even more energy and money. New efficiency specifications mean that qualified computers and monitors save power while they are in use — not just while they are in “sleep” mode.