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Sustainability at ORNL

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Sustainable Campus Initiative

About Sustainable Campus Initiative

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ORNL Sustainability Contacts

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Workshop on E.O. 13514

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Information Exchange

IT Sustainability

Can information technologies (IT) simultaneously meet researchers’ needs,
security requirements, and energy savings goals?

COMPETING AND CONFLICTING OBJECTIVES IT is essential to the “business” of ORNL, providing necessary tools for both research and administrative staff. Researchers want IT systems to support—and not interfere with—their research needs. IT staff “push” updates onto computers to achieve the high-priority goal of protecting ORNL’s computers from a myriad of threats, some with national security implications. IT systems and how they are used have energy and environmental consequences; the extent to which measures to minimize those consequences are possible at ORNL currently is unclear. More…	MISSED ENERGY SAVINGS Although ORNL had been buying Energy Star-rated computers and peripherals for years, it had not capitalized on the potential energy savings. Two years ago, the Facilities and Operations (F&O) organizations began to use Verdiem software to reduce their energy costs from personal computers, but the effort was not implemented throughout ORNL at that time because IT was focused on cyber security issues. Verdiem allows centralized control of the computer software settings that put computers into a minimal-energy sleep state after a period of inactivity. A 2009 DOE Inspector General audit criticized some of the national laboratories for not taking full advantage of known ways to reduce IT-related energy use. Subsequently, ORNL launched a lab-wide effort to identify and take advantage of IT-related energy-saving technologies and practices, while still meeting cyber security and research needs	WHAT'S ORNL DOING? ORNL has initiated programs to increase energy savings in Information Technology. Verdiem Surveyor software was deployed in Buildings 3147 and 3156 to reduce the energy used by inactive computers as part of the “net zero” energy project in those buildings. The use of smart power strips that cut off power to all secondary sockets when the device in the controlling socket is turned off and efficient network printers was also encouraged. The GREEN IT Volunteer pilot program has recruited computer users throughout ORNL to establish a baseline energy use pattern on computers and monitors and then see what savings can be obtained by managing the energy settings. ORNL’s Managed Hardware Program (MHP) provides energy-efficient hardware and computers configured to meet most users’ need. More...

Power-management technologies can reduce the impact of ORNL’s computers on the environment,
but security requirements and special needs of researchers are important considerations.

WHAT'S NEXT? If the Green IT Volunteer pilot project proves successful, the Verdiem software will be implemented throughout the laboratory to set most Windows-based computers to enter an energy saving state automatically. Verdiem Surveyor should allow management of computer power-use lab-wide use and produce energy savings. The Surveyor Sustainability Dashboard component will be added to provide feedback and reports on energy savings. IT will continue to encourage the use of more efficient networked printers, instead of personal use printers. In the future, IT will review similar energy-saving policies for Macintosh and Linux systems. Other green computing options will be evaluated and offered to ORNL staff through the Managed Hardware Program (MHP) as these are validated to conform to ORNL requirements.	R&D BENEFITS ORNL’s research staff benefits from energy savings while allowing the IT department to protect them against cyber security threats that could seriously impinge upon their work. Frequent software upgrades and network security handled by a central organization, and researchers are able to obtain exemptions to some security and energy saving procedures and practices that could interfere with their research and analysis. For example, if Verdiem computer power management software is used lab-wide, computers that run calculations overnight will not be automatically powered down	F&O BENEFITS Reducing energy use powering down personal computers and peripherals when they are not in use helps the F&O organizations manage both energy costs and energy use. Using fewer devices and more efficient equipment (such as smart power strips) and software (such as Verdiem) helps F&O achieve those goals. Furthermore, these energy-saving measure allow ORNL’s cyber security organization to continue to achieve its objectives by monitoring the network, limiting administrative privileges on most computers, and “waking” desktop computers at night when necessary for updates, patching, virus checking, and backups.

(Last updated: November 23, 2009.)