CASE STUDY

Automatic Activation of ENERGY STAR®

Features in Monitors at US DOE’s EnergyEfficiency and Renewable Energy Office

United States Environmental Protection Agency

Air and Radiation(6202J)

DRAFTDecember 2000

Focus: This case study focuses on automatic activation and auditing of ENERGYSTAR® features in networked monitors.

US DOE/EERE Pilot Implementation—Stats at a Glance

Number of Computer Systems 312

Energy savings with automatic implementation $5,300/year

Energy savings with automaticmplementation plus follow-up interviews $5,900/year

Projected energy savings if pilot implementation extended to all of US DOE $120,000/year

“Because there wasno response of anykind from usersfollowing activation,we were unsure thatthe activation hadactually occurred. Thefirst audit reportconfirmed that it had.”

David Ensign,Manager of the DOEMicrotechnologySupport

Background

The US Department of Energy(DOE), along with the USEnvironmental Protection Agency(EPA), is a sponsor of the ENERGYSTAR® program, that developsspecifications for reducing energy usein desktop computers and monitors,among other devices and systems.Although computers and monitors canbe designed and manufactured withENERGY STAR features, they aresometimes shipped without theseenergy conservation features beingenabled or disabled at the user site byinstallation personnel or users. In largeorganizations, with hundreds orthousands of computer systems, it maynot be practical to check and modifyeach system individually. Recognizingthis problem, DOE’s MicrotechnologySupport Team (MST) developed a suiteof computer tools in 1999 toautomatically evaluate and modify theenergy conservation features ofnetworked computers. MST’s efforts inthis area were directed by DavidEnsign, Manager.

MST’s philosophy is that monitors canprovide over 90% of the potentialenergy savings for computer system

with little or no implementationimpacts. While recognizing that othercomputer processor components, suchas disk drives and sound cards, can besafely powered down, the Team choseto focus their attention on monitorpower savings. The three network toolsdeveloped by the Team were:

• Energy Audit Program (determinesusage of monitor energyconservation features),

• Audit Report Program (generatessummary reports from audit logs),and

• Activation Program (automaticallyactivates energy conservationfeatures in networked monitors).

Pilot Implementation Program

In order to test the effectiveness ofthese tools as part of an overall energyconservation program, a pilotimplementation was performed inDOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency andRenewable Energy (EERE). This Officecontained 312 computer system userswhen the pilot program began in earlyMay 2000. The program consisted ofthe following elements:

Baseline Audit

The baseline audit revealed a low levelof use of monitor energy conservationfeatures. The baseline audit showed thatonly 30% of users had activated theENERGY STAR shutdown or standbymodes of their monitors; only 52% hadactivated screen savers; and only 12%had activated both screen savers and theenergy conservation modes of theirmonitors. Finally, only 1% of eligibleusers had selected what the MSTconsiders to be optimal settings forenergy conservation features.

Upper Management Support

A week prior to automatic activation, e-mail messages were sent to all computerusers from the EERE Assistant Secretaryindicating a high-level of managementsupport; alerting users to the upcomingactivation effort; and providingeducational information regardingmonitor energy conservation features.

Automatic Activation

The Activation Program was added touser network logins in early May. Uponexecution, the Activation Program hadno discernable effects on computeroperations within EERE. The first auditreport following the activation dateconfirmed that monitor settings hadbeen changed automatically, asdesigned. Only two out of over 300users experienced operating difficulty asa result of the automatic activation. Inboth cases, the difficulty was found tobe caused by a systemic workstationproblem, not an ENERGY STAR-relatedproblem, and was quickly resolved.

Audit

An audit was conducted one monthfollowing automatic activation. Thisaudit showed that 92% of eligiblesystems had been activated and werecompliant with MST’s recommendedenergy conservation features andsettings. Of the non-compliant systems,most were new systems that had joinedthe network after the automatic

activation program had been disabled.Another audit performed 3 monthsafter activation showed 85% of themonitors in compliance.

Interview with Users Out of Compliance

Interviews were conducted by MSTstaff with users whose systems were outof compliance following automaticactivation to determine the causes andto identify any technical or behavioralissues. User reluctance to monitorpower management was due toperception of long monitor recoverytime, technical problems, alterations topower management settings, and thebelief that a blank screen affected theirproductivity. MST staff heldinformational sessions with these usersto understand their reluctance,demonstrate the effectiveness of propermonitor power management, andchange their behavior. As a result, 90%of the monitors were in compliance atthe pilot’s end.

Pilot Program Results

As a result of the application of theMST network tools and procedures,

• The energy savings compliance rateamong EERE monitors increasedfrom 12% before the pilot programto 85% with automatic activationalone. Conducting one-on-oneinterviews with several non-compliant users identified by theAudit Program raised this level to90%;

• The automatic Activation Programsand Audit Programs operatedseamlessly and without significanttechnical difficulties. No issues werefound that would prevent roll-out ofthese tools to the entire DOE usernetwork, nor to other networks insimilar large organizations.

12/18/00

E N E R G Y S TAR ® i s t h e m a r k o fe x c e l l e n c e i n e n e r g y a n denvironmental performance. It is aregistered mark of the UnitedStates Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) and Department ofEnergy (DOE). The ENERGY STARlabel is awarded to buildings thatrank in the top 25 percent of theirc l a s s n a t i o n w i d e f o r e n e r g yperformance and have indoorenvironmental quality that meetsor exceeds industry standards.

ENERGY STAR makes it easy toimprove energy performance athome and in the workplace. It is at r u s t e d n a t i o n a l b r a n dsymbo l i z ing super io r energyperformance in 30 categories ofc o n s u m e r e l e c t r o n i c s a n dapp l iances , as wel l as of f icebuilding, schools, and homes. Tolearn more about ENERGY STAR,visit www.energystar.gov or callthe ENERGY STAR Hotline at 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937)