HP Widget Nags You To Switch Your PC Off

HP has launched Power To Change, a campaign to push energy efficient technologies and services, with a free widget to track and reduce PC power consumption.

Users who download the new desktop widget, compatible with all PC computing platforms, can track their cumulative energy savings as they switch off idle PCs.

“The cost of power is increasing while its availability is reducing, which is why we need to start changing PC users’ habits,” said Klaus Hieronymi, general manager of HP’s Environmental Business Management Organisation.

HP is collecting the data centrally, and estimates 100,000 users shutting down their work computers at the end of each day could eliminate the equivalent carbon emitted by 105 cars on the road (3,500 pounds) each day.

The global campaign also highlights HP’s energy efficient portfolio of PCs, laptops, thin clients, printers, software, servers and data centre services. And it will be the banner for its Energy Star rating rating printer and server certifications.

Ian Brooks, industry marketing manager for HP Technology Systems Group (TSG) in the UK and Ireland said recent research it had carried out found only 10 per cent of businesses had fully implemented a sustainable environmental policy.

“So there’s a great opportunity here, particularly with the government’s carbon reduction commitment coming into force to be legally binding from next year,” he said.

Brookes pointed out that the average cost of powering a modern-day server outstripped the initial cost of the hardware over the first 20 months of ownership, which made the case for ‘greener’ data centre kit and approaches, through virtualisation and data centre audit services from TSG or its subsidiary, EDS.

But he admitted that the cost of desktop virtualisation would probably not stack up on its potential energy savings alone.

“You have to build in more optimal use of real estate, better support and security levels, more manageable PC estates and so on, into a much broader business case around desktop virtualisation,” he said.

The widget is available here.