Reducing Energy Use

By Francois Ajenstat
Director Environmental Sustainability, Microsoft Corporation

When we talk about Green or Sustainability we focus on reducing energy, managing our environmental footprint and rethinking how we work. I’m really excited about some of the new technologies that Microsoft has released that I think will have a big impact on reducing energy use at home and at work – Microsoft Hohm and Windows 7.

Microsoft recently announced a new free online application, Microsoft Hohm to help people better understand their energy usage and learn how they can save money at home. Using advanced analytics licensed from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy, Hohm offers ways to cut costs, ranging from placing new caulking on windows to removing air leaks to installing a programmable thermostat. Recommendations are based on specific circumstances in each home including house features, usage patterns and appliances. And for those that don’t want to share their data, the tool will provide suggestions based on local and national averages.

Another way to save money is to use power management settings, and with the upcoming release of Windows 7 we’re making it even easier for homes and business to implement power management. Windows 7 has a strong focus on reducing the overall power consumption by investing in key areas of the platform including performance optimizations, idle resource utilization, device power management and key end-user scenarios.

Energy efficiency, when the PC is in use AND when it is turned off, has been a guiding principle in the development of Windows 7. The new release incorporates energy efficiency features that enable IT Pros to manage energy consumption by easily deploying a power management policy within their enterprise, such as turning off the display and enabling Sleep after a period of inactivity. Windows 7 also includes new diagnostics, Idle Power Management, Active Power Management and Wake on LAN for Remote Management to help IT professionals identify and resolve PC power management problems in their enterprise. Read the Windows 7 Power Management whitepaper for more information.

I encourage everyone to try out Microsoft Hohm at www.microsoft-hohm.com (currently U.S. only) and take advantage of the power management functionality available on your PCs.