It’s the server, not the computer

After a recent column on new technology, I heard from several readers who had their own observations and questions.

Wayne Woodman in Wolfville wrote, “you compared a computer’s electricity usage in the sleep mode to that of an SUV. I know you stated you heard it on CBC and for the most part I trust them to get their facts straight. However, on this one I’m just not sure this is the case. A typical desktop will use 1-6 watts in sleep mode so I’m not sure how that compares to using an SUV environment-wise.”

This is what I learned: it is computer servers that are at least as great a threat to the climate as SUVs or the global aviation industry, according to a new report by Global Action Plan, a UK-based environmental organization.

"Computers are seen as quite benign things sitting on your desk," says Trewin Restorick, director of the group. "But, for instance, in our charity we have one server. That server has same carbon footprint as your average SUV doing 15 miles to the gallon. Yet, whereas the SUV is seen as a villain from the environmental perspective, the server is not."

The organization’s report, “An Inefficient Truth”, states that with more than one billion computers on the planet, the global IT sector is responsible for about two per cent of human carbon dioxide emissions each year; a similar figure to the global airline industry.

The energy consumption is driven largely by vast amounts of customer and user data that are stored on computer servers in most businesses. The rate at which data storage is growing surpasses the growth in the airline industry.

Restorick told the New Scientist that simply increasing the efficiency of energy use and data storage could easily cut 30 per cent of power use in businesses. "In theory, this could happen overnight," he says.

Carbon footprint is similar

My favourite environmental science teacher, Tracy Webb, looked at the issue for me and said, “the computer is left on 24/7, while the SUV is usually driven periodically...and it is their carbon footprint that is similar over a year.”

At Horton High, Tracy said she has been told that if computers weren’t left on stand-by, “we'd save over $2,000 per year. Seems a bit high to me, but then again, energy isn't cheap....”

With electronic toys for young and old growing in popularity, so is energy use. I’ve read that sales of the Xbox 360 topped the two million mark in the U.S. alone this Christmas. The New Scientist says, if each of these consoles is played for an hour a day and left on standby along with a TV, an estimate of 145,140 tons of carbon emissions will be generated throughout 2008 - enough to fill the great pyramid of Giza 31 times or the English Channel tunnel 14 times.

So what has industry done, but created the first online carbon calculator designed specifically for kids. It’s nicknamed the "i-Trod" by developers, but as Tracy noted, “how ironic that another ‘gadget,’ requiring more resources from the earth, and energy, is being touted as a way to help inform people of their energy use. What is so hard about turning things off,” she asked.

Margaret Murphy at Nova Scotia Power also called to let me know the utility has launched a net metering program. So residential and commercial customers are able to connect small renewable energy generating units to the power corp's electrical grid. The program apparently provides us with a risk-free way of meeting our own energy needs from renewable sources while still having the security of being able to draw from the provincial power grid when needed.

That’s a good thing since half of a typical household’s energy bill goes toward space heating needs. Geothermal heat pumps have certainly become popular at Acadia University in recent years and more folks are adopting rooftop solar technology.

Ever rising fuel costs combined with occasional blackouts have increased our eagerness to find cheaper, cleaner and renewable home heating alternatives. However, we still have a long way to go.