7 Ways to Cut Energy Costs

This time every year, many start planning their New Year's Resolutions. More excercise, less take-out, skydiving, the list is endless. Most resolutions are forgotten mid-Febuary; by June, they never happened. But one resolution both individuals, and businesses, can stick to is cutting back on energy consumption and spending. With a few simple ( and not so simple) changes to your habits, energy consumption can be cut.

To make your resolution more manageable, we've compiled 7 ways you can cut back and 'go green' in 2010. Our tips range from small changes to large-scale overhauls for data centers and business infrastructures. Going seven for seven isn't neseccary to call your resolution successful, adopt a few at a time and see what happens.

1. For those in the data center market: start by monitoring how effectively you're using energy. CPI's PUE Calculator (Power Usage Effectiveness) is a simple tool which estimates energy efficiency. Sign in to use the calculator.
2. Turn off your periphrials when not in use. External speakers and personal printers constantly pull small amounts of energy. While not substantial, it adds up over time and when you multiple that by the number of employees using them, it's shocking.
3. Print less. Store your data online; in the cloud. Dropbox (2Gb storage free) and Mozy (paid service) are the best online storage options I've found. While paper isn't technically energy, it doesn't hurt to cut back here too. Oh, and stop printing your emails: archive.
4. Now that you know how energy is being used (Tip 1), learn to maintain proper cooling by downloading Ian Seaton's The Biggest Opportunity for Data Center Energy Savings. Within you'll learn to access hours of 'free' cooling.
5. Consider switching to a fiber infrastructure over 10g copper. Corning offers a Cooling Power Calculator. Enter the number of 10g circuits, select your line card density, enter your cost per kilowatt-hour, and you're off to the races. After playing around with this tool for a few minutes, I was impressed.
6. Kill your screen saver. Screen savers do not save energy, they often use more. Adjust your computer's settings to SLEEP during idle times.
7. Dim your monitor. Savings will be small, but every little bit counts, not to mention the relief on your eyes.

This is a short, but manageable, list of ways you and your business can cut back on energy consumption. What practices are your business putting into place this year? Share your energy-saving tips in the comments section below.

Happy New Year!