Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

Introduction

Green computing is the study and practice of using computing resources efficiently. The
primary objective of such a program is to account for the “triple bottom line” (People, Planet,
Profit), an expanded spectrum of values and criteria for measuring organizational (and societal)
success. The goals are similar to green chemistry; which is trying to reduce the use of hazardous
materials, maximize energy efficiency during the product's lifetime, and promote recyclability or
biodegradability of products and factory waste. Modern IT systems rely upon a complicated mix
of people, networks and hardware; as such, a green computing initiative must be systemic in
nature, and address increasingly sophisticated problems. Elements of such as solution may
comprise items such as end user satisfaction, management restructuring, regulatory compliance,
disposal of waste, telecommuting, virtualization of server resources, energy use, thin
client solutions, and return on investment (ROI).

Virtualization and Server Based Computing reduces emissions, by utilizing fewer servers,
power and cooling and providing a low-power/low-cost thin client on the users desktop. All
while centralizing and streamlining administration and providing high availability. Computers
overall now account for about 2% of worldwide energy usage. By the end of 2008, according to
Gartner, Inc. analysts, half of the world’s datacenters won’t have enough energy capacity to meet
the power and cooling requirements of the latest high-density computing equipment, such as
blade servers. In addition, Gartner estimates that energy bills, which traditionally have accounted
for less than 10% of an overall IT budget, soon could account for more than half. In the U.S., for
example, consumption of electricity by IT has doubled since 2000 and now comprises 3% of
total electricity consumed nationally. Electrical power for datacenter servers is only part of the
problem. Non-IT devices also consume datacenter power, including transformers, uninterruptible
power supplies, power wiring, fans, air conditioners, pumps, humidifiers, and lighting

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 1

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

1.0CHAPTER I
1.1 History of Green Computing

In 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched Energy Star, a voluntary
labeling program which is designed to promote and recognize energy-efficiency in monitors,
climate control equipment, and other technologies. This resulted in the widespread adoption
of sleep mode among consumer electronics. The term "green computing" was probably coined
shortly after the Energy Star program began; there are several USENET posts dating back to
1992 which use the term in this manner. Concurrently, the Swedish organization TCO
Development launched the TCO Certification program to promote low magnetic and electrical
emissions from CRT-based computer displays; this program was later expanded to include
criteria on energy consumption, ergonomics, and the use of hazardous materials in construction.

When it comes to PC disposal, it is necessary to know everything there is to know in order to be

involved in green computing. Basically, the whole green aspect came about quite a few years
back when the news that the environment was not a renewable resource really hit home and
people started realizing that they had to do their part to protect the environment.
Basically, the efficient use of computers and computing is what green computing is all about.
The triple bottom line is what is important when it comes to anything green and the same goes
for green computing. This considers social responsibility, economic viability and the impact on
the environment. Many businesses simply focus on a bottom line, rather than a green triple
bottom line, of economic viability when it comes to computers. The idea is to make the whole
process surrounding computers friendlier to the environment, economy, and society. This means
manufacturers create computers in a way that reflects the triple bottom line positively. Once
computers are sold businesses or people use them in a green way by reducing power usage and
disposing of them properly or recycling them. The idea is to make computers from beginning to
end a green product.

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 2

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

1.2 Regulations and Industry Initiative

1.2.1 From the Government

Many governmental agencies have continued to implement standards and regulations that
encourage green computing. The Energy Star program was revised in October 2006 to include
stricter efficiency requirements for computer equipment The European Union's directives
2002/95/EC (RoHS), on the reduction of hazardous substances, and 2002/96/EC (WEEE) on
waste electrical and electronic equipment required the substitution of heavy metals and flame
retardants like PBBs and PBDEs in all electronic equipment put on the market starting on July
1, 2006. The directives placed responsibility on manufacturers for the gathering and recycling of
old equipment (the Producer Responsibility model).

5.2.2 From the Industry

 Climate Savers Computing Initiative : CSCI is an effort to reduce the electric power
consumption of PCs in active and inactive states. The CSCI provides a catalog of green
products from its member organizations, and information for reducing PC power
consumption. It was started on 2007-06-12.
 Green Computing Impact Organization, Inc. : GCIO is a non-profit organization
dedicated to assisting the end-users of computing products in being environmentally
responsible. This mission is accomplished through educational events, cooperative programs
and subsidized auditing services. The heart of the group is based on the GCIO Cooperative, a
community of environmentally concerned IT leaders who pool their time, resources, and
buying power to educate, broaden the use, and improve the efficiency of, green computing
products and services
 Green Electronics Council : The Green Electronics Council offers the Electronic Products
Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) to assist in the purchase of "green" computing
systems. The Council evaluates computing equipment on 28 criteria that measure a product's
efficiency and sustainability attributes. On 2007-01-24, President George W. Bush issued

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 3

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

Executive Order 13423, which requires all United States Federal agencies to use EPEAT
when purchasing computer systems.
 The Green Grid : It is a global consortium dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in data
centers and business computing ecosystems. It was founded in February 2007 by several key
companies in the industry – AMD, APC, Dell, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Rackable Systems,
SprayCool, Sun Microsystems and VMware. The Green Grid has since grown to hundreds of
members, including end users and government organizations, all focused on improving data
center efficiency.

2.0 CHAPTER II

2.0 The Demons behind Green Computing

• Power supply: Desktop computer power supplies (PSUs) are generally 70–75%
efficient, dissipating the remaining energy as heat. An industry initiative called 80
PLUS certifies PSUs that are at least 80% efficient; typically these models are drop-in
replacements for older, less efficient PSUs of the same form factor. As of July
20, 2007, all new Energy Star 4.0-certified desktop PSUs must be at least 80%
efficient.

• Storage: Smaller form factor (e.g. 2.5 inch) hard disk drives often consume less
power than physically larger drives. Unlike hard disk drives, solid-state drives store
data in flash memory or DRAM. With no moving parts, power consumption may be
reduced somewhat for low capacity flash based devices. Even at modest sizes,
DRAM based SSDs may use more power than hard disks, (e.g., 4GB i-RAM uses
more power and space than laptop drives). Flash based drives are generally slower for
writing than hard disks.

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 4

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

 Video card: A fast GPU may be the largest power consumer in a

computer. Energy efficient display options include: No video
cards used in a shared terminal, shared thin client, or desktop
sharing software if display required.
 Use motherboard video output - typically low 3D performance
and low power.
 Reuse an older video card that uses little power; many do not
require heat sinks or fans.
 Select a GPU based on average wattage or performance per
watt.

• Materials: Computer systems that have outlived their particular function can be repurposed, or
donated to various charities and non-profit organizations. However, many charities have recently
imposed minimum system requirements for donated equipment. Additionally, parts from outdated
systems may be salvaged and recycled through certain retail outlets and municipal or private
recycling centers. Recycling computing equipment can keep harmful materials such as lead,
mercury, and hexavalent chromium out of landfills, but often computers gathered through
recycling drives are shipped to developing countries where environmental standards are less strict
than in North America and Europe. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition estimates that 80% of the
post-consumer e-waste collected for recycling is shipped abroad to countries such as China, India,
and Pakistan. Computing supplies, such as printer cartridges, paper, and batteries may be recycled
as well.

• Display: LCD monitors typically use a cold-cathode fluorescent bulb to provide light for
the display. Some newer displays use an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in place of
the fluorescent bulb, which reduces the amount of electricity used by the display.

• Chilling of data: To keep servers at the right temperature, companies mainly rely on air
conditioning. The more powerful the machine, the more cool air needed to keep it from
over heating. By 2005, the energy required to power and cool servers accounted for about
1.2 % of total U.S electricity conception. By 2010, half of the Forbes Global 2000
companies will spend more on energy than on hardware such as servers.

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 5

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

2.1Approaches to Green Computing

2.1.1 Virtualization

Computer virtualization refers to the abstraction of computer resources, such as the

process of running two or more logical computer systems on one set of physical hardware. The
concept originated with the IBM mainframe operating systems of the 1960s, but was
commercialized for x86-compatible computers only in the 1990s. With virtualization, a system
administrator could combine several physical systems into virtual machines on one single,
powerful system, thereby unplugging the original hardware and reducing power and cooling
consumption. Several commercial companies and open-source projects now offer software
packages to enable a transition to virtual computing. Intel Corporation and AMD have also built
proprietary virtualization enhancements to the x86 instruction set into each of their CPU product
lines, in order to facilitate virtualized computing.

In case of server consolidation, many small physical servers are replaced by one larger physical
server, to increase the utilization of costly hardware resources such as CPU. Although hardware
is consolidated, typically OS are not. Instead, each OS running on a physical server becomes

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 6

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

converted to a distinct OS running inside a virtual machine. The large server can "host" many
such "guest" virtual machines. This is known as Physical-to-Virtual (P2V) transformation.

Virtual machine can be more easily controlled and inspected from outside than a physical one, its
configuration is also more flexible. This is very useful in kernel development and for teaching
operating system courses.

A new virtual machine can be provisioned as needed without the need for up-front hardware
purchase. Also, virtual machine can be easily re-located from one physical machine to another as
needed. For example, a sales person going to a customer can copy a virtual machine with the
demonstration software to its laptop, without the need to transport the physical computer. At the
same time and error inside a virtual machine does not harm a host system, so there is no risk of
breaking down the OS in said laptop.

2.1.2 Material management

• RoHS

: In February 2003, the European Union adopted the Restriction of Hazardous Substances
Directive (RoHS). The legislation restricts the use of six hazardous materials in the
manufacture of various types of electronic and electrical equipment. The directive is closely
linked with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE), which sets
collection, recycling, and recovery targets for electrical goods and is part of a legislative
initiative that aims to reduce the huge amounts of toxic e-waste. Driven by these directives,
VIA implemented a set of internal regulations in order to develop products that are compliant
with these accepted policies, including the use of nonhazardous materials in its production of
chipsets, processors, and companion chips. In 2001, they focused on lead-free manufacturing,
introducing the Enhanced Ball Grid Array (EBGA) package for power efficient VIA
processors and the Heat Sink Ball Grid Array (HSBGA) package for their chipsets. In
traditional manufacturing processes, lead is used to attach the silicon core to the inside of the
package and to facilitate integration onto the motherboard through tiny solder balls on the
underside of the package. VIA's lead-free manufacturing technologies do not require a lead
bead, and the solder balls now consist of a tin, silver, and copper composite.

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 7

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

However, not everyone is satisfied with this new objective. Howard Johnson of
the online EDN magazine says that the move toward lead-free devices is not only unhelpful
but actually worse for the environment. “The additional tin mining required to produce high-
purity tin alloys, plus the mining of other precious metals required to alloy with tin in
substitution for lead, is a poor trade for the use of existing lead, much of which comes from
recycled products,” Johnson writes. He also believes that lead-free assembly is less reliable
than lead-based assembly, partially due to the increased growth of tin whiskers — small, hair-
like metallic growths that naturally emerge from the surface of solid tin. On lead-free tin
surfaces, these whiskers can grow to a length sufficient to short an electronic circuit to
another, leading to product failure.

• Energy efficient Computing

 Do not leave your computer running overnight and on weekends. Also, wait
until you are ready to use it before you turn it on.
 A modest amount of turning on and off will not harm the computer or monitor.
The life of a monitor is related to the amount of time it is in use, not the
number of on and off cycles.
 Try to plan your computer-related activities so you can do them all at once,
keeping the computer off at other times.
 Do not turn on the printer until you are ready to print. Printers consume
energy even while they are idling.
 Do not print out copies of email unless necessary.
 If you spend a large amount of time at your computer, consider reducing the
light level in your office. This may improve CRT (cathode ray tube) screen
visibility as well as save energy.
 Most computer equipment now comes with power management features. If
your computer has these features, make sure they are activated.
 The best screen saver is no screen saver at all - turn off your monitor when
you are not using it. This option is second best only to turning off your
computer all together.
 Use "paperless" methods of communication such as email and fax-modems.

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 8

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

 When typing documents, especially drafts, use a smaller font and decrease the
spacing between lines, or reformat to keep your document to as few pages as
possible, especially when typing drafts.
 Review your document on the screen instead of printing a draft. If you must
print a draft, use the blank back side of used paper.
 Use a printer that can print double-sided documents. When making copies, use
double-sided copying.
 Always buy and use recycled-content paper. Look for papers with 50-100%
post-consumer waste and non-chlorine bleached. Also, recycle your paper
when done.
 Buy a monitor only as large as you really need. Although a large monitor
might seem more attractive, you should remember that a 17-inch monitor uses
40 percent more energy than a 14-inch monitor. Also, the higher the
resolution, the more energy it needs.
 Ink-jet printers, though a little slower than laser printers, use 80 to 90 percent
less energy.
 Request recycled / recyclable packaging from your computer vendor.
 Buy vegetable (or non-petroleum-based) inks. These printer inks are made
from renewable resources; require fewer hazardous solvents; and in many
cases produce brighter, cleaner colors.

• Recycling

Obsolete computers are a valuable source for secondary raw materials, if treated
properly, however if not treated properly they are a major source
of toxins and carcinogens. Rapid technology change, low initial cost and even planned
obsolescence have resulted in a fast growing problem around the globe. Many materials
used in the construction of computer hardware can be recovered in the recycling process
for use in future production. Reuse of tin, silicon, iron, aluminum, and a variety of
plastics – all present in bulk in computers – can reduce the costs of constructing new
systems. In addition, components frequently contain copper, gold, and other materials
valuable enough to reclaim in their own right. Electronic devices, including audio-visual

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 9

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

components (televisions, VCRs, stereo equipment), mobile phones and other hand-held
devices, and computer components, contain valuable elements and substances suitable for
reclamation, including lead, copper, and gold. They also contain a plethora of toxic
substances, such as dioxins, PCBs, cadmium, chromium, radioactive, and mercury.

Whole computers and pieces of electronic equipment are shredded into smaller
pieces to be more manageable and facilitate the separation of the constituent components.
Leaded glass from cathode ray tubes is sold to foundries for use as a fluxing agent in the
processing of raw lead ore. Other valuable metals, such as copper, gold, palladium, silver
and tin are sold to smelters for metal recycling. The hazardous smoke and gases
generated by these processes are captured, contained, and treated to ensure that they do
not become a threat to the environment. These methods allow for the safe reclamation of
all the valuable materials used in computer construction.

2.1.3 Telecommuting

Telecommuting, e-commuting, e-work, telework, working at home (WAH),

or working from home (WFH) is a work arrangement in which employees
enjoy flexibility in working location and hours. In other words, the daily commute to a
central place of work is replaced by telecommunication links. Many work from home,
while others, occasionally also referred to as nomad workers or web commuters utilize
mobile telecommunications technology to work from coffee shops or myriad other
locations. Telework is a broader term, referring to substituting telecommunications for
any form of work-related travel, thereby eliminating the distance restrictions of
telecommuting. All telecommuters are teleworkers but not all teleworkers are
telecommuters. A frequently repeated motto is that "work is something you do, not
something you travel to". A successful telecommuting program requires a
management style which is based on results and not on close scrutiny of individual
employees. This is referred to as management by objectives as opposed to management
by observation. The terms telecommuting and telework were coined by American Jack
Nilles in 1973.

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 10

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

Long distance telework is facilitated by such tools as virtual private

networks, videoconferencing, and Voice over IP. It can be efficient and useful for
companies as it allows staff and workers to communicate over a large distance, saving
significant amounts of travel time and cost. As broadband Internet connections become
more commonplace, more and more workers have enough bandwidth at home to use
these tools to link their home office to their corporate intranet and internal phone
networks.

2.1.4 VoIP

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a general term for a family of transmission
technologies for delivery of voice communications over the Internet or other packet-
switched networks. The reduction in telephone wiring will obviously lead to decreasing
costs because of Voice-Over-Internet protocol. Voice over IP (VoIP) reduces the
telephony wiring infrastructure by sharing the existing Ethernet copper, thus reduce the
use of metallic waste. VoIP and phone extension mobility also made Hot-desking and
more practical.

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 11

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

2.2 Role of IT vendors

 Apple

Four areas of particular attention are product and packaging design, materials,
energy efficiency, and recycling. Each aspect of the design cycle provides significant
challenges, yet our efforts in these areas have resulted in some impressive results.

Product design: It all begins here. Reducing the environmental impact of our products
starts with the product design phase. Design dictates the quantity of raw materials as well
as the type and recyclability of materials used. It also determines how much energy is
consumed during manufacturing and product use. For example, the amazingly slim 20-
inch iMac is made from highly recyclable glass and aluminum and it is so energy
efficient it consumes about the same amount of power as a standard light bulb when on.

Materials: Apple helps to safeguard the environment - as well as consumers’ safety - by

restricting the use of environmentally harmful compounds in our materials and
manufacturing processes. In addition to the substances that have already been restricted
or eliminated, Apple is removing elemental forms of bromine and chlorine from our
products, not just polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs). The
new MacBook family also uses mercury-free light-emitting diode (LED) displays, with
arsenic-free display glass.

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 12

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

Energy efficiency: A devices greatest contribution to greenhouse gas emissions comes

from its consumptions of energy over time. Apple has made great strides in recent years
to optimize the energy efficiency of our hardware and created tools, such as the Energy
Saver feature in Mac OS X, that allow consumers to manage the power consumption of
their computers. Since 2001, Apple desktop computers, portable computers, and displays
have earned the ENERGY STAR rating.

Recycling : Apple’s holistic, lifecycle approach to recycling includes using highly

recyclable materials in products in addition to providing extensive take-back programs
that enable consumers and businesses to safely dispose of used Apple equipment. Since
our first take-back initiative began in Germany in 1994, we have instituted recycling
programs in 95 percent of the countries where our products are sold - diverting over 53
million pounds of electronic equipment from landfills worldwide. Apple is on track to
eliminate toxic chemicals from our products. In the2008 Environmental Update Steve
Jobs provides an overview on Apple’s progress to eliminate mercury and arsenic from
displays and Brominated Flame Retardants (BFR’s) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) from
internal components. Steve Jobs also talks about Apple’s policy on climate change, steps
taken to improve product energy-efficiency as well as overall recycling performance
during 2007.

 Wipro

Wipro Limited, a leading player in Global IT and R&D services, is committed

towards environmental sustainability by minimizing the usage of hazardous substances
and chemicals which have potential impact on the ecology. It has joined hands with
WWF India, one of the largest conservation organizations in the country, to directly deal
with issues of climate change, water and waste management and biodiversity
conservation.

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 13

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

• Green Lighting Solutions

 Complete range of Brightness Management Products for Green Buildings

 Ability to integrate lighting and lighting management systems for Green
Building performance standards
 Role of Lighting for GREEN buildings: 17% – 20% of the overall
building’s energy usage
 Optimize Energy Performance

o High efficiency luminaries design

o High efficiency light sources - Compact Fluorescent Lamp, LED,
etc.
o Lighting controls
o High efficiency control gear
o Personalized controls through task lighting Intelligent lighting
systems
• Green IT Solutions Applications

o e-Freight – An innovative application for the Air Cargo industry

that enables efficient, multi-format & paperless interaction
between Airlines, Freight Forwarder and Customs
 Emission Compliance Management System
o An application developed for manufacturing companies

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 14

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

o Helps them to control pollution & reduce carbon monoxide

emissions
 Energy Efficiency Solution

o A process & technology application that accommodates the

functionality requirements of an end-to-end energy efficiency
solution
o It is a framework that is designed to help customers to use their
energy requirements in the most-cost effective manner
• Products
 Wipro Green ware

o RoHS Compliant (Restriction of Hazardous Substances)

o Energy star certification
o Energy Conservation mechanism in electronic components
o Compliant with environment & safety standards and statutory
regulations
o Recyclable & degradable packing materials
o MPR II certified radiation free monitors
o Wipro WEEE Statement
o Part of ‘Quick Start Guide’ shipped with all systems from factory
o WEEE – Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment
• Services
 e-Waste Disposal Service
o Offering a facility to collect retired computers, laptops &
servers from willing customers and to dispose them off in a
responsible manner
 Eco-friendly Product Engineering Designs
o Eco-friendly Engineering Designs that are RoHS compliant &
energy efficient

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 15

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

o For Telecom & Embedded solution customers

o With state-of-the-art labs for environmental testing
 Green Data Center Energy consumption & Cost are the drivers due to:

o Increase in computing demand

o Changing cost dynamics
o Data Centre Life Cycle Mismatch
o Wipro’s service offering – Build / upgrade into a Green Data
Centre:
• Manage IT Infrastructure
o Optimize server operations & reduce floor footprint
o Implement remote monitoring for increased efficiency and
improved management
• Green Testing Lab
 Wipro has set up a hardware lab in its Sarjapur campus that will
exclusively test products to confirm that they are “green” compliant
 The idea is to maintain & uphold the environmental standards by the
Government & Society
 Virtualization Of Testing
 Server Consolidation

o Allows to run multiple heterogeneous operating systems OR

versions of same operating systems simultaneously on a single
server —without partitioning or rebooting. It consolidates
workload of several under-utilized servers to fewer machines,
perhaps a single machine
o Reduces Cost
o Reduces cost involved in hardware resources, power, cooling,
commercial space & maintenance
o Reduces Testing Time

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 16

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

o Simplifies & reduces testing effort

• Shared Service Consulting
• A practitioner’s perspective
o Wividus - A shared service organization
o Supports 80000+ employees; handles 4000+ transactions per day
o Conserving resources – paper (95% electronic transactions) &
energy
o Sharing service resources across Wipro businesses
o Applying Six Sigma & Lean Concepts

 Google

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible
and useful. Hundreds of millions of users access our services through the web, and supporting
this traffic requires lots of computers. We strive to offer great internet services while taking our
energy use very seriously. That's why, almost a decade ago; we started our efforts to make our
computing infrastructure as sustainable as possible. Today we are operating what we believe to
be the world's most efficient data centers.
The graph below shows that our Google-designed data centers use considerably less energy -
both for the servers and the facility itself - than a typical data center. As a result, the energy used
per Google search is minimal. In fact, in the time it takes to do a Google search, your own

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 17

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

personal computer will use more energy than we will use to answer your query.

But sustainability is about more than electricity, so we've gone beyond just reducing our
energy consumption. Before the end of 2008 two of our facilities will run on 100% recycled
water, and by 2010 we expect recycled water to provide 80% of our total water consumption. We
also carefully manage the retirement of our servers to ensure that 100% of this material is either
reused or recycled. Finally, we are engaging our users and peers to help build a clean and
efficient energy future. This broader impact could be significant; if all data centers operated at
the same efficiency as ours, the U.S. alone would save enough electricity to power every
household within the city limits of Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
Sustainability is good for the environment, but it makes good business sense too. Most of our
work is focused on saving resources such as electricity and water and, more often than not, we
find that these actions lead to reduced operating costs. Being "green" is essential to keeping our
business competitive. It is this economic advantage that makes our efforts truly sustainable.

Google’s five step plan

1. Minimize electricity used by servers

2. Reduce the energy used by the data center facilities themselves
3. Conserve precious fresh water by using recycled water instead

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 18

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

4. Reuse or recycle all electronic equipment that leaves our data centers
5. Engage with our peers to advance smarter energy practices

 VIA

VIA Technologies, a Taiwanese company that manufactures motherboard chipsets, CPUs,

and other computer hardware, introduced its initiative for "green computing" in 2001. With this
green vision, the company has been focusing on power efficiency throughout the design and
manufacturing process of its products. Its environmentally friendly products are manufactured
using a range of clean-computing strategies, and the company is striving to educate markets on
the benefits of green computing for the sake of the environment, as well as productivity and
overall user experience.

• Carbon-free computing : One of the VIA Technologies’ ideas is to reduce the "carbon
footprint" of users — the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of
carbon dioxide (CO2) VIA aims to offer the world's first PC products certified carbon
free, taking responsibility for the amounts of CO2 they emit. The company works with
environmental experts to calculate the electricity used by the device over its lifetime,
generally three years.
• Solar computing: Amid the international race toward alternative-energy sources, VIA is
setting its eyes on the sun, and the company's Solar Computing initiative is a significant
part of its green-computing projects. For that purpose, VIA partnered with Motech
Industries, one of the largest producers of solar cells worldwide. Solar cells fit VIA are
power-efficient silicon, platform, and system technologies and enable the company to
develop fully solar-powered devices that are nonpolluting, silent, and highly reliable.
Solar cells require very little maintenance throughout their lifetime, and once initial
installation costs are covered, they provide energy at virtually no cost. Worldwide
production of solar cells has increased rapidly over the last few years; and as more
governments begin to recognize the benefits of solar power, and the development of
photovoltaic technologies goes on, costs are expected to continue to decline. As part of

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 19

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

VIA's “pc-1” initiative, the company established the first-ever solar-powered cyber
community center in the South Pacific, powered entirely by solar technology.

• Lead-Free and RoHS computing: In February 2003, the European Union adopted
the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS). The legislation restricts the
use of six hazardous materials in the manufacture of various types of electronic
and electrical equipment. The directive is closely linked with the Waste Electrical and
Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE), which sets collection, recycling, and recovery
targets for electrical goods and is part of a legislative initiative that aims to reduce the
huge amounts of toxic e-waste. Driven by these directives, VIA implemented a set of
internal regulations in order to develop products that are compliant with these accepted
policies, including the use of nonhazardous materials in its production of chipsets,
processors, and companion chips. In 2001, they focused on lead-free manufacturing,
introducing the Enhanced Ball Grid Array (EBGA) package for power efficient VIA
processors and the Heat Sink Ball Grid Array (HSBGA) package for their chipsets. In
traditional manufacturing processes, lead is used to attach the silicon core to the inside of
the package and to facilitate integration onto the motherboard through tiny solder balls on
the underside of the package. VIA's lead-free manufacturing technologies do not require
a lead bead, and the solder balls now consist of a tin, silver, and copper composite

 IBM

In May 2007, IBM unveiled Project Big Green -- a re-direction of $1 billion USD per
year across its businesses to increase energy efficiency. New products and services are expected
to reduce data center energy consumption and transform clients' technology infrastructure into

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 20

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

“green” data centers, with energy savings of approximately 42 percent for an average data center.
As part of Project Big Green, IBM is building an $86 million green data center expansion at its
Boulder, Colorado location and will consolidate nearly 4,000 computer servers in six locations
worldwide onto about 30 refrigerator-sized mainframes running the Linux operating system.

Project Big Green outlines a five-step approach for data centers that is designed to improve
energy efficiency:

1. Diagnose: evaluate existing facilities -- energy assessment, virtual 3-D power

management and thermal analytics.
2. Build: plan, build or update to an energy efficient data center.
3. Virtualize: Virtualize IT infrastructures and special purpose processors.
4. Manage: seize control with power management software.
5. Cool: exploit liquid cooling solutions -- inside and out of the data center.

By investing in systems that deliver better performance per watt, businesses can make significant
long-term savings and reduce their carbon footprint. Project Big Green invests in delivering
continual advances in power-performance for each new generation of its server and storage
technologies, enabling clients to run the same business workload at lower cost and with reduced
environmental impact

 Sony

Sony has developed an environmentally friendly prototype battery that runs on sugars and
can generate enough electricity to power a music player and a pair of speakers, the Japanese
company said. The bio battery's casing is made of a vegetable-based plastic. It measures an inch
and a half along each edge and works by pouring sugar solution into the unit; where enzymes
break it down to generate electricity. Test cells had an output of 50 mill watts. Sugar is a
naturally occurring energy source produced by plants through photosynthesis. It is therefore
regenerative, and can be found in most areas of the earth, underlining the potential for sugar-
based batteries as an ecologically friendly energy device of the future

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 21

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

2.4 Green Computing Tips

• Use LCD monitors instead of CRT monitors, which consume a lot more electricity.
LCD monitors uses three times less when active, and ten times less energy when in
sleep mode.
• Use laptops instead of desktop computers, also cuts down on energy usage.
The Everex Step Note NC1501 is touted as the world's most energy efficient notebook
computer, using only 12W peak power. By comparison, a desktop model uses 200-400
watts.
• If a laptop is not feasible, look for the Energy Star label when purchasing a computer.
New US government regulations make this more important than it's been for the past
fifteen years.
• Disable your screen saver. Burn-in is not an issue with modern monitors, and screen
savers can prevent your monitor and computer from going into idle/sleep mode.
• Enable the power management features on your computer, to turn off components such
as the monitor, fans and hard drive when idle. On Windows, go to Control Panel /
Power Options. On OS X, go to System Preferences / Energy Saver.
• Switch off the monitor, printer, scanner and other peripherals when not in use.

 Tips for Green Home Computing:

• Don’t check your email on a PC as far as possible – use a mobile device
• Never leave your PC switched on at the wall, or on standby
• Take that CRT monitor to the recycling centre
• Always switch off speakers, modem, monitor at the wall socket if not using
• Use natural ventilation in the computer room
• Only connect to the internet when you know you will use the connection
• Get all family members to log on to the WiFi network at the same time
• Consider buying a newer, more energy efficient computer or low power
notebook
• Surf at cafes where they only have a single WiFi modem

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 22

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

 Tips for Green Office Computing:

• User blade servers that run very low temperature chips to save cooling
• Tell employees to switch everything off at night
• Use smart thermostats in the server room to save cost
• Use low power thin client PCs that use on-demand applications
• Switch to LCD screens to cut power usage
• Only buy Green label PCs and hardware that can be completely recycled.
• Recycle all internal paper, and reprint on the back of used single side waste

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 23

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

3.0 CHAPTER III

3.1 Future is Green

India Inc is already facing an energy crisis. Today most large Data Centers (DC) consume
10-100 times more energy per square foot than a typical office building and most of these data
centers have become chillers (over cooled), which again eats into power needed to cool them.
Now, emerging high density computer systems and consolidation of IT resources into fewer DCs
are stretching the limits. That is why one would witness that DCs are evolving at a faster rate due
to which customers have to modify or redesign their DC every five years. Customers are looking
for solutions that adapt to the changing needs of the data center without needing additional
investment. The existing scenario for DC includes reviewing installed power sources and finding
any technical solutions that can reduce the energy demand. For DCs that are in the design stage,
it is vital to provision for such devices, or to use the latest power conditioning equipment. One
should not go only by the specifications; it is a good idea to measure the power output from a
sample device and monitor it. A deep study on the efficiency of the devices being used can prove
helpful. Even a one or two percent drop in power consumption can result in substantial cost
savings in the long run. It is this scenario that is forcing many IT departments to evaluate their
DC power consumption and find ways to become more energy-efficient. In today’s 24x7 world
of information availability, on-demand services, and round-the-clock commerce sites, companies
increasingly are adding high-performance servers, storage and other equipment to their data
centers to satisfy user and customer demand. As a result, companies find that they need more and
more power to run and cool this equipment. At the same time, the cost of electricity is on the rise.
Many companies are trying to be good corporate citizens by becoming green (or at least greener).

Large DCs are looking at pocketing more green into their pocket. It is primarily because
they want to minimize the risk in the DC as heat generation goes higher, leading to greater power
consumption. So DCs need to go in for optimization of power as well as cooling. There is a
strong possibility that organizations will look at green technologies to reduce their data center
costs without even knowing it and that because most of the bigger and multiple

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 24

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

One thing that each and every DC manager agrees upon is that power and cooling are the
two important factors required for the smooth functioning of a DC. Data center power and
cooling go hand-in-hand. And it will be right to say that based on the requirement per rack, the
cooling and power management must be designed at the rack level to avoid any wastage of
energy within a data center. Today cooling contributes nearly 35 to 40% of total DC energy
consumption and if we see the distribution of IT servers within a rack in a data center, we will
find that the loads are unequally distributed. This means that there may be a few racks that
generate 3/4 kW to 15 kW per rack of heat load. The racks with more than 10 kW load are the
extreme density racks and are required to be cooled for reliability within the DC. Since the
temperature in the room is not evenly distributed, it needs supplemental cooling at the source
where the heat is being generated. Several trends are driving up DC power requirements
significantly. First, most companies need more computing power to run their Web sites and
business and financial applications, for which servers often must run round-the-clock. Second,
newer computers use higher performing processors that consume more electricity. And third,
there is a trend to physically consolidate servers by moving to high-density rack and blade
servers, packing more processing power into smaller spaces within data centers.It have been
noted that up to 40% of the operating costs of a building that houses a DC could be power- and
cooling-related expenses. If nothing changes, power and cooling issues (and costs) are likely to
get worse in the future. That’s because the price of electricity is expected to rise, and many newer
systems are expected to require more power. Faced with growing power consumption
requirements to run and cool DC equipment, companies are looking for ways to reduce electrical
usage and costs. To figure out where to focus attention on energy, one must understand what
contributes to power consumption.

DCs are very different today than they were a few years ago. Equipment that used to fill
an entire room is now contained in a single rack, concentrating extreme power and heat
densities-a situation that must be addressed to assure reliability. This has caused a shift in focus
from “Watt per square foot” to “KW per rack” when creating cooling solutions. The DCs are
expected to operate at a maximum of 125 watts per square foot and a significant amount of cost
and energy is spent in order to keep these solutions up and running 24x7.

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 25

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

To meet the requirements and limitations on power and cooling for each data center, it is
important to consider the thermal footprint of each DC or server room by figuring how much
critical load can you power; how much can you cool before you start to have problems like
downtime or failure; and how much computing capacity you need vs. power/cooling capacity
you can not exceed before you incur the expense of overhauling the data center. Unfortunately,
many data centers are now stuck in a heat loop. Creating heat by powering cooling to offset heat
dissipated by servers entails creating new heat to get rid of existing heat. This is a problem
irrespective of the platform being used be it rack, tower, blade; all data centers have to address it.
In fact, a Google engineer warned that, if the performance per watt of today’s computers does not
improve, the electrical costs of running them could end up exceeding the initial hardware price
tag.

Today many a large DC is looking at including liquid cooling as an option as many

companies are running out of room to ventilate racks. The next step is to put liquid cooling next
to the rack. Improved energy efficiency is just one of the many benefits that this technology
brings to the table and it’s a lot easier to pump liquid, than air, to where it’s needed. Liquid
cooling is not new; it’s been used from the days of the mainframe. Mainframes generated a lot of
heat. So much so that it was too much for air cooling to handle. Air cooling is not as effective as
liquid cooling for the same volume. As computers and servers become smaller and their density
goes up, at some point we will not be able to cool data center racks with air anymore. They will
have to be cooled with liquid directly. That’s what happened in the case of the mainframes where
vendors were forced to resort to liquid cooling. A migration from air to direct liquid cooling is
being used to address surging DC energy costs and allow the power densities of servers to
continue to increase into the next decade. Some DC managers may not fully grasp the problem,
because over the past eight years, server performance has increased by a factor of 75 while
performance per watt of power has increased 16 times and the data centers are using more
number of processors than ever. Meanwhile, the power density of equipment has increased to the
point where power and cooling plays a critical role. That creates two problems. First, energy
costs are spiraling upward. Many DC managers don’t see that today, because their power use
isn’t metered separately and isn’t part of the IT budget. There is no hard and fast rule as to which

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 26

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

technology to use to optimize DC. What is important is to undertake a full exercise to see the hot
zones and chill zone and then use appropriate technologies to reduce the operational cost of DC.

3.2 Lawn PC

Technology isn’t always on the same page with sustainability. Still when green
innovation transforms the trajectory, even we find ourselves inclining towards the novelty. Such
is the LawnPC, which visions to transform computing in the near future. The concept PC from
David Veldkamp is powered by the solar cells attached to the grass like lawn on the PC, made
from natural cotton fabric these blades transfer the generated 60 watts of energy down to the
plug-in button at the bottom each blade. The concept requires no cooling fans, just put it where
natural light and air are readily available and then leave rest on this wirelessly functional device
that’ll give you the cleanest computing all the time.

Renewable energy is the need of the hour and the form in which it has been used here is
simply stunning. 60 Watts of solar energy per hour gets a thumb up from our side. Geeks like us
on that side wouldn’t be satisfied with the concept we know, but then guys, just give Designer
David Veldkamp the breather to have initiated in making something with a likely future.

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 27

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

4.0 Conclusion

Green Computing is on the radar screens of CIOs, but its not primarily motivated by eco-
friendlyness,” says Jim Noble, CIO of Altria, parent company of Philip Morris and Kraft Foods.
“The primary motivation is technology’s cost”. The good news for Mother Earth is that there are
a lot of money-saving, eco-friendly steps just waiting for IT execs to take

5.0 Glossary

CIO : Chief Information Officer

DC : Data Centre

LCD : Liquid Crystal Display

RoHS : Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive

WEED : Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive

BFR : Brominated Flame Retardants

WAH : Working At Home

WFH : Working From Home

EBGA : Enhanced Ball Grid Array

HSBGA : Heat Sink Ball Grid Array

PVC : Polyvinyl Chloride

LED : Light Emitting Diode

VoIP : Voice over Internet Protocol

EPEAT : Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool

CSCI : Climate Savers Computing Initiative

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 28

Green Computing Chapter 1,II & III

6.0 Bibliography

• Marshall, Leon. "Green Computing; refined." 27 oct. 2008. <

http://www.trendbird.co.kr/1212 >.
• Pant, Sharma. M K. "Green computing; for energy conservation, money saving and eco
friendly steps." Computer Society Of India Vol 32 ( June 2008): 12.
• [ http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007622.html ]
• [ http://www.centriserv.com/company_green_computing.php ]
• [ http://www.brighthub.com/environment/green-computing/articles/15703.aspx ]
• [ http://www.computeruser.com/articles/view/d27d8d1be45167c9af38a434a81e7496 ]
• [ http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20080428/datacentrespecial02.shtml]
• [www.wipro.in/Products/greenpc/index.htm ]
• [www.google.com/corporate/datacenters/ ]
• [www.green-pc.blogspot.com/ ]
• [www.webwombat.com.au/careers_ed/education/green-computing.htm ]
• [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_/ai_n28029308 ]
• [http://www.via.com.tw/en/initiatives/quietcomputing/resources.jsp ]

• [http://www.who.int/peh/noise/guidelines2.html ]

Rajagiri School of Computer Sciences Page 29