A prototype computer showcased last week at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) Symposium in Washington, D.C. is a harbinger for what may bring about huge energy savings. By merging laptop and desktop computer technology with other off-the-shelf technologies, researchers have developed a highly energy-efficient computer that consumes 70 percent less energy than Energy Star labeled computers.

It is probably not surprising to learn that today's computers spend 95 percent of their energy idling. Therefore, this new, ultra-efficient hybrid offers the potential to not only reduce energy consumption, but greenhouse gas emissions, as well.

This all came about because researchers, Peter May-Ostendorp and Nathan Beck, of Ecos collaborated with chip makers Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and VIA Technologies to see how much they could reduce the energy demand of computers operating in today's business environment.

Using the hardware makers' most-efficient computer platforms, Ostendorp and Beck added best-in-class components — such as hybrid hard drives and right-sized 80 Plus power supplies — to further scale back the test computers' energy consumption. 80 Plus Power Supplies is a utility-funded incentive program to integrate more efficient power supplies into desk top computers and server. www.80plus.org.

The researchers installed the Windows Vista operating system and then tested the machines' performance using the SYSMark 2007 PC performance metric to establish benchmarks for each.

Ostendorp and Beck compared the performance of a Class B Energy Star computer that consumes 65 watts at idle with several desktop computers with this new energy-saving capability they designed, to come up with a market-ready system and an ultimate efficiency system. All of the machines tested consumed from 40 percent to 70 percent less electricity than allowed under Energy Star standards. In fact, their most-efficient computer consumed just 19 watts at idle.

Over the course of a year, a single computer would use roughly 190 kilowatt-hours and run up $18.98 in electricity costs, compared with 408 kilowatt-hours and $40.84 for a Class B Energy Star computer.

www.ecosconsulting.com

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