Green computing

GREEN COMPUTING

By S.SUGANESH

S.SANTHOSH KUMAR KONGU ARTS AND SCIENCE COLLEGE,ERODE

What is Green Computing ?

Green Computing is the application of environmental science to offer economically viable solution that conserve the natural environment ,resources and curb the negative impact of human involvement .

Green ComputingWhy we use GC ?

- computer energy is often wasteful• leaving the computer on when not in use (CPU and fan consume

power, screen savers consume power)– printing is often wasteful

• for a “paperless” society, we tend to use more paper today than before computer-prevalence

– pollution • manufacturing techniques• packaging• disposal of computers and components

– toxicity• as we will see, there are toxic chemicals used in the manufacturing

of computers and components which can enter the food chain and water!

Energy Use of PCs• CPU uses 120 Watts• CRT uses 150 Watts

– 8 hours of usage, 5 days a week = 562 KWatts• if the computer is left on all the time without proper power saver

modes, this can lead to 1,600 KWatts

– for a large institution, say a university of 40,000 students and faculty, the power bill for just computers can come to $2 million / year

• Energy use comes from– electrical current to run the CPU, motherboard, memory– running the fan and spinning the disk(s)– monitor (CRTs consume more power than any other

computer component)– printers

Chemical Elements Used:Element purpose problem

Lead used in soldering of printed circuit boards and other components

can cause damage blood system, kidneys, and cause negative effects on child brain development

Mercury batteries, switches, housing, printed circuit boards

cause chronic brain damage

Cadmium Used in resistors for chips, infrared detectors and in semiconductors

poison a human body slowly through the human’s life

Chromium used to treat steel plates (an anti-corrosive)

lead to cancer

Land Fills

• Europe has outlawed using landfills for computer components– the US and Europe export a lot of e-waste to Asian landfills

(especially China even though China has outlawed the importing of e-waste)

– in addition, incineration of computer components leads to air pollution and airborne toxins

Reducing Energy Consumption• Turn off the computer when not in use, even if just for

an hour• Turn off the monitor when not in use (as opposed to

running a screen saver)

• Use power saver mode

• Use hardware/software with the Energy Star label– Energy Star is a “seal of approval” by the Energy Star

organization of the government (the EPA)

• Don’t print unless necessary • Use LCDs instead of CRTs as they are more power

efficient

How Do the Companies Rate?

• 8: Nokia - regained its top position for eliminating the worst chemicals from many products– still needs to report on its recycling rate percentage

• 7.3: Dell - still among the top but loses points for not having models free of the worst chemicals– strong support for global take back

• 7: Samsung - strong position for having a good chemical policy, but still lack products that are free from the worst chemicals– its take back system is not yet global and need improvement

Solutions

• Reuse: donate your computer components to people who may not have or have lesser quality computers– inner city schools, churches, libraries, third world countries

• this however leads to the older computers being dumped but there is probably no way around this as eventually the older computers would be discarded anyway

• Refurbish: rather than discarding your computer when the next generation is released, just get a new CPU and memory chips – upgrade rather than replace– while you will still be discarded some components, you will

retain most of the computer system (e.g., monitor, the system unit housing, cables)

One More Solution: Recycling

• If companies can recycle the plastics and other components, this can greatly reduce waste and toxins

– however, the hazardous materials in e-waste can harm the recycle workers if they are not properly protected

• Developed countries now have facilities for recycling e-waste

• To resolve these problems, the computer manufacturers must start using recyclable chemicals

How Do the Companies Rate?

• 8: Nokia - regained its top position for eliminating the worst chemicals from many products– still needs to report on its recycling rate percentage

• 7.3: Dell - still among the top but loses points for not having models free of the worst chemicals– strong support for global take back

• 7: Samsung - strong position for having a good chemical policy, but still lack products that are free from the worst chemicals– its take back system is not yet global and need improvement

Recent implementations of Green Computing

i. Blackle: It is a search-engine based on the concept that display of different colors consumes different amounts of energy on computer monitors.

ii. Fit-PC: a tiny PC that draws only 5w: Fit-PC is the size of a paperback and absolutely silent, yet fit enough to run Windows XP or Linux. fit-PC is designed to fit where a standard PC is too bulky, noisy and power hungry.

Future of Green ComputingAs 21st century belongs to computers and other electronic items, energy issues will get a serious as the public debate on carbon emissions, global warming and climate change gets hotter. If we think computers are nonpolluting and consume very little energy.

we need to think again. It is estimated that out of $250 billion per year spent on powering computers worldwide only about 15% of that power is spent computing- the rest is wasted idling. Thus, energy saved on computer hardware and computing will equate tonnes of carbon emissions saved per year.

Initiative

Big innovations come from small initiatives.

Green Computing is a work of many past years and will improved further to make more energy efficient equipment's.

It is our duty to save our mother Earth. Go Green, Save environment