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Frequently Asked Questions |
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Who can participate in the Initiative? How? |
| The Climate Savers Computing Initiative brings together: |
- Consumers, who are encouraged to participate by using power-management capabilities on their PCs and by choosing systems that meet or exceed the latest ENERGY STAR specification for any future PC purchases.
- Computer and component manufacturers, who commit to developing products that meet or exceed the latest ENERGY STAR specification.
- System Buyers, who commit to choosing systems that meet or exceed the latest ENERGY STAR specification for a majority of their PC and volume server2 computer purchases, and to using power-management tools on PCs. System Buyers include any organizations that buy PCs and/or servers, including corporations, government institutions, universities and energy companies.
- Environmental and consumer organizations, who commit to educating end users about the benefits of energy-efficient computers and power-management tools for home use.
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What are the membership types? |
| Individuals are encouraged to support the Initiative by pledging to use power management, and to make high-efficiency systems a requirement for their next computer purchase. Organizations can participate as one of two member types: |
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- Associate membership is available for companies wanting to play an integral role in the efforts of the organization. Associate Member dues are $2,500 annually. For more details, please review the Associate member agreement.
- Affiliate members are organizations that agree to purchase computers that meet or exceed the latest ENERGY STAR specification. Affiliate membership is free and open to any type of organization. For more details, please review the Affiliate member agreement.
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| In addition to Associates and Affiliates, the Initiative has Sponsors and a Board of Directors. Sponsor and Board-level membership is by invitation only. For more information, contact
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What are the tech specs of the Initiative? |
The Initiative starts with the ENERGY STAR 4.0 specification for desktops, laptops and workstation computers—including monitors—and gradually increases the efficiency requirements over the next four years. The ENERGY STAR 4.0 specification, which took effect in July 2007, requires power supplies to be at least 80% efficient for most of their load range. It also puts limits on the energy used by devices when inactive, and requires systems to be shipped with power-management features enabled.
In addition to efficiency specifications, the Initiative asks companies to utilize advanced power management features such as the "sleep" or "hibernate" settings on client PCs. The initial power management policies require PCs to turn off the display and hard drive after 15 minutes of inactivity, and put the system into "sleep" mode after 30 minutes of inactivity. Further, desktop and laptop computers must enable power management such that the power management features place monitors and computers into a low-power S3 or "sleep" state after a defined period of inactivity. The computer is reactivated or "wakes up" when the mouse or keyboard are touched. CSCI recommends activating power management after 20 to 30 minutes of inactivity.
Climate Savers Computing requirements for systems with multi output power supplies. These systems typically include PCs, thin clients, and workstations:
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- Climate Savers Computing Base: ENERGY STAR 4.0 qualified. This specification includes an 80% minimum efficiency for the power supply unit (PSU) at 20%, 50% and 100% of rated output; a power factor of at least 0.9 at 100% of rated output; and meeting the maximum power requirements in standby, sleep and idle modes.
- Climate Savers Computing Bronze: ENERGY STAR 4.0 qualified PLUS an 85% minimum efficiency rating for the PSU at 50% of rated output (and 82% minimum efficiency at 20% and 100% of rated output).
- Climate Savers Computing Silver: ENERGY STAR 4.0 qualified PLUS an 88% minimum efficiency rating for the PSU at 50% of rated output (and 85% minimum efficiency at 20% and 100% of rated output).
- Climate Savers Computing Gold: ENERGY STAR 4.0 qualified PLUS a 90% minimum efficiency rating for the PSU at 50% of rated output (and 87% minimum efficiency at 20% and 100% of rated output)
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Climate Savers Computing requirements for systems with single output power supplies. These systems are typically volume servers including 1S, 2S, 4S and blade servers:
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- Climate Savers Computing Bronze: Volume servers must have 85% minimum efficiency rating for the PSU at 50% of rated output (and 81% minimum efficiency at 20% and 100% of rated output), and a power factor of at least 0.9 at 100% of rated output.
- Climate Savers Computing Silver: Volume servers must have 89% minimum efficiency rating for the PSU at 50% of rated output (and 85% minimum efficiency at 20% and 100% of rated output).
- Climate Savers Computing Gold: Volume servers must have 92% minimum efficiency rating for the PSU at 50% of rated output (and 88% minimum efficiency at 20% and 100% of rated output).
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How are members expected to apply the Initiative’s technical specifications? |
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By joining the Initiative, our members commit to specifying systems that meet or exceed the latest ENERGY STAR specification for a majority of their corporate personal computer and volume server computer purchases. The tables below lists the minimum percentage of total procurements requested from Climate Savers Computing Initiative participants at each efficiency level in a given year.
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| Minimum PC efficiency targets and purchase commitment level |
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Year 1: July '07 - June '08 |
Year 2: July '08 - June '09 |
Year 3: July '09 - June '10 |
Year 4: July '10 - June '11 |
| Base PC (most recent version of ENERGY STAR PC specification) |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
| Bronze PC (85% PSU) |
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>=20% |
>=80% |
100% |
| Silver PC (88% PSU) |
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>=20% |
>=80% |
| Gold PC (90% PSU) |
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>=20% |
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Volume-server minimum efficiency targets and purchase-commitment levels*
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Year 1: July 07 - June 08 |
Year 2: July '08 - June '09 |
Year 3: July '09 - June '10 |
Year 4: July '10 - June '11 |
| Bronze Server (85% PSU or most recent version of ENERGY STAR server spec (when available)) |
>=20% |
>=80% |
>=80% |
100% |
| Silver Server (89% PSU) |
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>=20% |
>=40% |
100% |
| Gold Server (92% PSU) |
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>=20% |
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| *Specifications are for volume servers that are 1S, 2S, 4S and blade servers.
Find out more about the technical specifications of the Initiative at http://www.climatesaverscomputing.org/about/tech-specs/
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How do I find a Climate Savers Computing-compatible PC or server? |
| The Climate Savers Computing Initiative offers an online product catalog containing energy-efficient PCs, laptops, servers, power supplies and power management software. |
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Which products are included in the Climate Savers Computing product catalog? |
| The Climate Savers Computing Initiative online catalog is a resource for individuals and companies to find products that comply with the Initiative. The catalog includes desktop PCs, laptops, workstations and servers that meet the Initiative's technical specifications, including power management software. Other products in the catalog may include power supplies, components that go into power supplies, power supply components that go into PCs or servers, motherboards, and power management software. |
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How does the Climate Savers Computing Initiative work with ENERGY STAR? |
| The Climate Savers Computing Initiative recently announced a partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ENERGY STAR program to accelerate the adoption of energy-saving technology and practices. Under the terms of the agreement, ENERGY STAR becomes the Climate Savers Computing Initiative's baseline technical recommendation now and in the future, and the Initiative will provide technical input into future ENERGY STAR specifications. By recommending systems that have earned the ENERGY STAR, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative is making it easier for its members to identify and choose energy-efficient systems. |
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What are the details of the ENERGY STAR 4.0 specification? |
| Visit the ENERGY STAR website for a detailed description of the specification. |
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How does the Climate Savers Computing Initiative work with 80+? |
| The Climate Savers Computing Initiative and 80+ are both programs that promote the development and purchase of energy efficient power supplies for use in desktop, laptop, thin client, and work station computers as well as servers. Both CSCI and 80+ use the same naming conventions for labeling efficient power supply categories as well as efficiency requirements for each of the categories. These labels are base, bronze, silver and gold. 80 PLUS is an innovative, electric utility-funded incentive program to integrate more energy-efficient power supplies into desktop computers and servers. Find out more about 80+ at their website http://www.80plus.org/ |
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How much energy do computers really waste? |
| In a typical desktop PC, nearly half the power coming out of the wall is wasted and never reaches the processor, memory, disks or other components.
In offices, homes and data centers, the added heat from inefficient computers can increase the demand on air conditioners and cooling systems, making the computing equipment even more expensive to run. Servers are typically more efficient than desktops, but still waste 30–40% of the input power. With proven technology that actually saves money in the long run, the vast majority of these energy losses can be eliminated.
In addition, there is a significant opportunity to reduce overall energy consumption by putting systems into a lower power-consuming state when they are inactive for long periods of time. Even though most of today’s desktop PCs are capable of automatically transitioning to a sleep or hibernate state when inactive, about 90% of systems have this functionality disabled.
The Climate Savers Computing Initiative promotes efforts to increase the use and effectiveness of power-management features by educating computer users on the benefits of these tools and by working with software vendors and IT departments to implement best practices. For a typical business desktop user, implementing advanced power-management policies alone—without compromising productivity—could save 60% of the electricity consumed. |
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Do you have any plans to extend the Climate Savers Computing Initiative to other components/products? |
| We currently have no plans to expand the scope of the Climate Savers Computing Initiative beyond increasing the power efficiency of personal computers and volume servers. |
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How do you protect the privacy of individuals who sign up for the program? |
| All individual member information gathered by Climate Savers Computing Initiative is treated as confidential and will not shared with other companies. The Initiative will not utilize member information other than for pre-agreed upon Initiative communication. Further, individual members will not be listed by name on the Initiative web site. Review our privacy policy. |
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Does Climate Savers Computing Initiative have a member requirement for monitors? |
| Climate Savers Computing Initiative does not have a member purchasing requirement for computer monitors. However, CSCI strongly encourages members to purchase Energy Star qualified monitors.Visit www.energystar.gov to find a complete list of Energy Star qualified monitors. Energy Star rated monitors can use 25-60% less electricity than standard models. In addition, enabling the monitor's power management features and turning it off during periods of extended inactivity reduce computing energy consumption and subsequent global warming gases. Typical power management products enable monitor power management. By purchasing Energy Star rated monitors, enabling power management and turning monitors off at night, users may realize on average 100-500 kWh per year in energy savings.To determine potential energy savings from purchasing an Energy Star monitor, check the Savings Calculator at the Energy Star website. Purchasing an energy-efficient monitor and enabling power management will also lead to additional energy savings on room air conditioning and maintenance. |
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How do I set the power management settings on my computer? Are you going to develop a tool for this? |
| For instructions on how to enable power management on your computer, please visit here. Currently CSCI does not have plans to develop a tool to assist users with power management features. However we are planning an IT Power Management Summit in March to address enterprise power management issues. In addition, computer users should visit the EPA's Power Management site http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=power_mgt.pr_power_management to learn more about activating power management. |
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How can I learn more about the joint EPA/CSCI IT Power Management Summit? |
| The Climate Savers Computing Initiative and the EPA hosted an enterprise power management webinar on March 30, 2009. The webinar, entitled "IT Power Management Summit," looked at enterprise IT needs, obstacles and opportunities around the issue of power management. The session included a first look at new Forrester Research data on PC power management practices within enterprise IT. Additionally, the webinar addressed:
- Opportunities to eliminate energy waste and save money/carbon
- Implementation obstacles and how to overcome them
- Best practices from companies who have already successfully implemented power management
You can find a video recording and additional resources from the webinar here.
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It is true that power management doesn’t work with networked computers? |
| On some systems, sleep mode can interfere with certain network settings. This is most applicable in environments with older systems that need to stay continuously connected so the network administrator can “push” administrative software updates to the individual computers. You can find more information about this situation on the EPA's ENERGY STAR web site at http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=power_mgt.pr_power_mgt_sleep_activate, including tips and technologies for successfully using power management in networked environments. |
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Are you available to speak/participate at an event? |
| We welcome speakership/event opportunities. Please forward the following information to events (at) climatesaverscomputing.org: |
- When and where is the event?
- When do you need a commitment by?
- What would the representative from Climate Savers be speaking about?
- Are there any specific speaker requirements (title, company type, etc.)?
- How many people do you expect at the event?
- Where is this event held?
- What other companies will be represented at the event?
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How can I contact individual Climate Savers Computing Initiative member companies? |
| You can contact the Climate Savers Computing Initiative at contact (at) climatesaverscomputing.org. We can forward inquiries to individual member companies, but we can not guarantee that you will receive a response. |
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How does this program differ from WWF’s Climate Savers Initiative? |
| The Climate Savers Computing Initiative was started in the spirit of WWF’s Climate Savers program, which mobilizes leading companies to cut carbon dioxide emissions. In partnership with WWF, companies commit to absolute, measurable greenhouse gas reduction targets. By 2010, Climate Savers companies will reduce their carbon dioxide pollution by over ten million tons each year, the equivalent of taking 2 million cars off the road. The Climate Savers Computing Initiative is an extension of WWF’s model and seeks to increase the energy efficiency of IT equipment, by challenging IT equipment manufacturers to develop and sell products with higher energy efficiency, and to encourage IT users to buy those products. We aim to reduce 54 million tons of carbon by 2010. |
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Do you have plans to expand the Initiative to include e-waste, manufacturing and other aspects of the computing industry that impact the environment? |
| As our name implies, we chose to focus on climate change as one of the most pressing environmental issues of our era. We know that the technology exists today to meet the projected doubling of energy demand by 2050, while avoiding temperature change above 2 degrees Celsius, which is widely recognized as the tipping point for the most dangerous climate change impacts.
The average desktop PC wastes almost half the power it consumes, as heat, and the average server wastes about 30 percent of its consumed power. In achieving the ambitious metrics set out, we will have gone a long way towards driving these inefficiencies out of the IT market.
We believe that by focusing on one specific issue and rallying the industry behind it, we can foster the very real change that is needed to address climate change's causes and consequences. Our initiative focuses on climate change; we refer parties interested in the super set of IT issues to the good work being done by colleague organizations like EPEAT. |
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What is the new Climate Savers Computing naming scheme and why is this being introduced? |
Climate Savers Computing is introducing a naming scheme to make it easier to identify products that meet the Initiative’s program criteria. The naming scheme does not change the program criteria; it simply provides an easier way to refer to products that meet or exceed a particular level of efficiency. The naming scheme for desktop PCs, laptops and workstations is outlined below:
- Climate Savers Computing Base PC: Systems with an 80 percent minimum efficiency for the power supply unit (PSU) at 20 percent, 50 percent, and 100 percent of rated output, a power factor of at least 0.9 at 100 percent of rated output, and meeting the maximum power requirements in standby, sleep, and idle modes.
- Climate Savers Computing Bronze PC: Systems with an 85 percent minimum efficiency for the PSU at 50 percent of rated output (and 82 percent minimum efficiency at 20 percent and 100 percent of rated output).
- Climate Savers Computing Silver PC: Systems with an 88 percent minimum efficiency for the PSU at 50 percent of rated output (and 85 percent minimum efficiency at 20 percent and 100 percent of rated output).
- Climate Savers Computing Gold PC: Systems with a 90 percent minimum efficiency for the PSU at 50 percent of rated output (and 87 percent minimum efficiency at 20 percent and 100 percent of rated output).
In addition, the Initiative sets the following high-efficiency targets for volume servers (1U/2U single- and dual-socket servers, four socket and blade servers):
- Climate Savers Computing Bronze Server: Volume servers with an 85 percent minimum efficiency for the power supply unit (PSU) at 50 percent of rated output (and 81 percent minimum efficiency at 20 percent and 100 percent of rated output), and power factor of at least 0.9 at 100 percent of rated output.
- Climate Savers Computing Silver Server: Volume servers with an 89 percent minimum efficiency for the PSU at 50 percent of rated output (and 85 percent minimum efficiency at 20 percent and 100 percent of rated output).
- Climate Savers Computing Gold Server: Volume servers with a 92 percent minimum efficiency for the PSU at 50 percent of rated output (and 88 percent minimum efficiency at 20 percent and 100 percent of rated output.
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Does Climate Savers Computing Initiative now include four socket and blade servers in their volume server specifications? |
| Yes, Climate Savers Computing includes four socket and blade servers in their volume server specifications. 4S and blade servers are a growing segment of enterprise server purchases. We believe that by focusing on power savings for all volume server segments, we can begin to reduce computer energy consumption and the subsequent release of global warming gas emissions. |
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Footnotes
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- Rocky Mountain Institute, "Cool Citizens: Everyday Solutions to Climate Change "
- The Initiative recommends servers with an 85 percent efficient power supply unit (PSU), or that meet most recent version of ENERGY STAR server spec, when it becomes available.
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Did you Know?
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A complete melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet could raise global sea
level by almost 20 feet within just a few hundred years.1 The Indian Ocean nation of Maldives has a maximum elevation of only 8 feet. You do the math.
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