School Systems Save Energy, Money with EZConserve Software

Public school systems from the Northwest to the Midwest adopt an innovative software tool that cuts energy waste in their PC networks and demonstrably saves money

Portland, OR – Thousands of miles, a mountain range, and five states separate the public school systems of Minnetonka, Minnesota and Beaverton, Oregon. Yet theyre kindred spirits when it comes to adopting innovative new technologies that save energy and money. Both school systems are set to deploy a software product from EZConserve that painlessly ends energy waste in their large PC networks and lowers their operating costs.

Surveyor, EZConserves flagship product, is a network-wide software tool that schedules when, where, and how power management policies are used on the networks PCs. It raises the power management options of a single PC to a network interface, and can invisibly transition each PC on the network through a series of unique power profiles" every day. These profiles balance the often-competing demands for energy conservation and user productivity, while providing IT administrators with the flexibility they need to safely manage large numbers of PCs that may behave differently under the influence of power management. A Surveyor-enabled network can easily employ different power settings throughout the PC population that accommodate different types of users or hardware, and that incorporate power configurations ranging from simple to complex. On the simple end, Surveyor acts as an energy watchdog" that insures PCs arent left running over nights and weekends, while in a more complex deployment Surveyor can enable low-power states in either CPUs or monitors or both, then set customized power use" schedules that are synchronized with lab and classroom schedules.

With 46 schools and 35,000 students, Beaverton School District is Oregons third-largest school district. The district is also home to an ever-increasing population of PCs, with some 4,000-plus units scattered in classroom, lab, and administrative environments. Jerry Green, the districts administrator for facilities, operation, and maintenance, was looking for a way to control the rising energy drain these PCs represent when he began an evaluation of Surveyor in fall of 2002. The first pilot program at the districts Southridge High School showed immediate savings of nearly 150 kilowatt-hours per PC each year—a 40% reduction—with almost zero impact on users or network dministrators. Based on the results of this test we identified Surveyor as a targeted energy efficiency measure for our conservation efforts, and we expect to fully implement Surveyor within the next few months at two of our high schools based on the findings of their individual energy audits." After a wide-scale deployment the district stands to save over $42,000 every year through Surveyor, even at their low energy rate of 7 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Half a continent away Mike Condon, the Minnetonka School Districts director of building and grounds, recognized a similar opportunity in Surveyor. Extensive research into the ongoing energy waste PCs represent in his facilities led Condon to have several detailed discussions with both his own technical experts and the staff at EZConserve. Satisfied that the results from using the product would warrant the purchase cost, Condon purchased 2,500 units for his district in early March.

In addition, Surveyor pilot programs are underway at other school districts throughout North America, all aimed at opening the door for large deployments of the product. Many of these evaluations have the oversight and blessing of the utility company that provides power to the district: In Washington state, both the Seattle Public School District and the nearby Issaquah School District have pilot programs underway that are being reviewed by their utilities. The Seattle school district alone is home to 118 schools, 47,000 students, and over 12,000 energy-consuming computers. The Abbotsford School District of British Columbia, Canada, has a pilot program underway that is sponsored in part by BC Hydro, their regional utility and a recognized leader in building awareness for new energy efficiency technologies.

As rapid as adoption of Surveyor may be in these school districts, the products impact on their bottom line may pale in comparison to the savings opportunity developing in New York State. The New York Power Authority, supplier of power and energy efficiency programs to every school district, public office, and agency in the state, has been pursuing an in-house evaluation of Surveyor since December of last year, as a way of proving the product before making it available to their customers. These customers include 779 school districts throughout the state, along with their 4,336 schools and their 2.8 million computer-using students. If Surveyor can be universally adopted here, and if the per-PC savings equal the savings demonstrated in Beaverton, then school systems in New York can plan on saving over three million dollars each year with Surveyor.

About EZConserve
EZConserve develops energy efficiency products that apply innovative new technologies to existing systems, manage and reduce energy consumption, and provide companies and organizations of all sizes with a rapid return on investment. EZConserve products have been funded in part by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, a non-profit group of electric utilities, state governments, public interest groups and industry representatives work to make affordable energy-efficient products and services available in the Northwest marketplace. Visit EZConserves web site at www.ezconserve.com, or the Alliances web site at www.nwalliance.org, for more information.

# # #