Desktop Computing Environment Best Practices
Follow these best practices to create a sustainable desktop computing environment in your area.
Get buy-in
- Find out how much energy your systems are really using and share it with others.
- Test with a Kill-A-Watt meter
- Make a Kill-A-Watt meter available to loan to your users
- Set practical energy-saving settings for the typical cases.
- Establish good processes to manage the inevitable exceptions.
- Focus on energy and natural resource savings rather than costs.
- Make green computing practices the norm in your area.
Promote energy-saving behavior
- Share energy-saving information and available Sustainable Computing materials with your users.
- Integrate Sustainable Computing educational material into training.
- Encourage users to visit sustainablecomputing.umich.edu.
Buy smart
- Buy energy efficient equipment.
- Choose more modest specifications for systems that don't require the fastest processor.
- Promote laptop purchases.
- Replace CRT monitors with LCDs.
- Choose recycled paper.
Turn electronics off when not in use
- Encourage users to turn computers off at the end of the work day.
- Make power strips available and encourage users to turn them off.
- Choose "smart" power strips that have combination outlets (manually switched and always-on), motion sensors, and other advanced features.
Configure default energy-savers
- Set standby/sleep settings.
- Allow exceptions for users that need them.
- Deploy power management tools and Wake-on-LAN services.
Re-evaluate the printing environment
- Consolidate to fewer, shared printers.
- Set double-sided printing as the default to save paper.
- Consider charging; "free" printing invites waste.
Reuse and responsibly recycle computer equipment
- Give older but still working computers to other U-M departments.
- Send truly obsolete gear to Property Disposition to be disposed of properly.
- Contact Occupational Safety and Environmental Health to pick up e-waste accumulated up to one year.