The University will save $30,000 to $40,000 per year by programming computers to “sleep” when in periods of extended inactivity.

“The University could save $500,000 to $1 million a year if we had 100 percent adoption,” said Tommy Larson, IT Manager at the Terry College of Business.

Terry College operates 90 computers and has been saving about $30 per computer a year by using an older method.

The new software, Faronics Power Save, will be invisible to students and should not hinder the performance of the computer in any way.

“The main reason we didn’t implement this change before is because we couldn’t find a reliable software solution,” said Matthew Gonzales, IT professional specialist of Enterprise Information Technology Services.

Gonzales said using “Green IT” to tackle budget deficits has not been previously considered because the University’s IT professionals were uncertain of how to balance the necessity of keeping all University computers powered on for critical remote updates while simultaneously saving energy.

The new software costs about $5,100 and will pay for itself in the first year of use by saving close to $50 per year for each of the 715 computers where it will be implemented.

The program will be installed on all EITS-managed computers, including those in Oglethorpe House, East Campus Village, Russell Hall, Brumby Hall, Creswell Hall, the main library and the Miller Learning Center – including the Macintosh computers on the third floor.

Utility costs are “uncontrollable,” according to the University Fiscal Overview produced for the Information Technology Management Forum (ITMF) Annual Conference on May 27, 2008.

In 2008, the utility funding shortfall totaled about $6.1 million. The report stated utility consumption rates have reduced by 19 percent during the past 10 years, but energy costs have grown by 50 percent since 2003.

“Very few people at UGA actually see the power bill,” said Larson. “When you show them the power bill and how many millions of dollars we spend, it’s jaw dropping.”

Ken Crowe, director of energy services at the University’s Physical Plant, reported that in 2009, the MLC cost $310,362 in electrical bills.

The new software would reduce these costs by approximately 7.5 percent.

But sustainable technology is also being implemented elsewhere on the University campus.

According to Gonzales, one example of this includes the new MLC computers, which were purchased because they were inherently more power efficient.

Florence King, assistant University librarian for human resources and director of the MLC electronic library, wrote in an e-mail that the Physical Plant is working on a new system for the MLC that will reduce lighting when adequate sunlight is available.

Crowe said the Physical Plant is also working on more sustainable projects.

“We are capturing the condensation from the AC systems and feeding that water to the new cistern installed as part of the Tate II project,” he said.

“Making people aware of [saving energy] is a big part of it, no doubt,” Larson said. “It just needs to be implemented at a university level.”

According to the ITMF Power Management Committee Final Report, “If ITMF wishes to pursue such a program, it must begin with upper administration.”