Green computing a winner at Aberystwyth
This month, Aberystwyth University will showcase two innovative green computing technologies that could save the University in excess of £50,000 in electricity and travel costs.
The JISC-funded PAWS (Powerdown and Wake System) project, a computer program that saves electricity by turning off idle computers, is now in its second phase of development.
Speaking about the project’s success to date, Rob Johnson of Aberystwyth’s Information Services department has said: ‘PAWS Mark 1 has already saved in the region of £25,000 in electricity costs and of course more importantly approximately 185 tonnes of CO2 emissions since its inception in July 2010. We hope to at least double this saving by deployment on Staff computers and more so by deploying to other institutions’.
Both Mr Johnson and his colleague, Tim Davies, will be giving a presentation at the University on the 20th of May, which falls within Wales’ Sustainability Week 2011, to describe the next phase of this project’s development. Furthermore, you can follow the project’s progress at the “PAWS for thought” blog at http://paws.aber.ac.uk.
On Monday and Thursday of Sustainability Week 2011, which runs between the 14th and 21st of May, other members of the University’s Information Services team will be holding videoconferencing ‘taster sessions’ for all students and members of staff.
This event is part of an extensive project entitled ‘How Green was my Videoconference?’, which seeks to evaluate the sustainable benefits of videoconferecing in the work place.
Geoff Constable of Information Services has said: ‘The University spends up to half a million pounds on travel annually, and a return trip to Cardiff releases over 65kg of CO2 emissions. So there is plenty of scope to make savings. Staff who use videoconferencing to replace their travel not only save money and CO2 emissions, but also save time, which allows them to work more efficiently and have a better work/life balance.’
Over these two days, several of the University’s videoconferencing studios will be linked via the web, both to each other and a number of roaming laptops that will be situated around Penglais Campus, in order to demonstrate how this technology could potentially help University staff to avoid travelling to meetings and in so doing reduce carbon emissions from fuel.
Professor Noel G. Lloyd, Vice-Chancellor of the University, said of the two Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) funded schemes: ‘‘These are two valuable projects that draw upon the wide range of skills within the Information Services department at Aberystwyth and the commitment of staff. They have the potential to achieve significant savings in key areas of expenditure for the University and they also exemplify the University’s continuing commitment to creating a more sustainable work-place’.
The University is also organising a number of other events during Sustainability Week, which will highlight and celebrate other ways in which it contributes to a more sustainable environment.
Links:
http://www.wvn.ac.uk/greenict/
http://paws.aber.ac.uk/roller/paws/
The JISC-funded PAWS (Powerdown and Wake System) project, a computer program that saves electricity by turning off idle computers, is now in its second phase of development.
Speaking about the project’s success to date, Rob Johnson of Aberystwyth’s Information Services department has said: ‘PAWS Mark 1 has already saved in the region of £25,000 in electricity costs and of course more importantly approximately 185 tonnes of CO2 emissions since its inception in July 2010. We hope to at least double this saving by deployment on Staff computers and more so by deploying to other institutions’.
Both Mr Johnson and his colleague, Tim Davies, will be giving a presentation at the University on the 20th of May, which falls within Wales’ Sustainability Week 2011, to describe the next phase of this project’s development. Furthermore, you can follow the project’s progress at the “PAWS for thought” blog at http://paws.aber.ac.uk.
On Monday and Thursday of Sustainability Week 2011, which runs between the 14th and 21st of May, other members of the University’s Information Services team will be holding videoconferencing ‘taster sessions’ for all students and members of staff.
This event is part of an extensive project entitled ‘How Green was my Videoconference?’, which seeks to evaluate the sustainable benefits of videoconferecing in the work place.
Geoff Constable of Information Services has said: ‘The University spends up to half a million pounds on travel annually, and a return trip to Cardiff releases over 65kg of CO2 emissions. So there is plenty of scope to make savings. Staff who use videoconferencing to replace their travel not only save money and CO2 emissions, but also save time, which allows them to work more efficiently and have a better work/life balance.’
Over these two days, several of the University’s videoconferencing studios will be linked via the web, both to each other and a number of roaming laptops that will be situated around Penglais Campus, in order to demonstrate how this technology could potentially help University staff to avoid travelling to meetings and in so doing reduce carbon emissions from fuel.
Professor Noel G. Lloyd, Vice-Chancellor of the University, said of the two Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) funded schemes: ‘‘These are two valuable projects that draw upon the wide range of skills within the Information Services department at Aberystwyth and the commitment of staff. They have the potential to achieve significant savings in key areas of expenditure for the University and they also exemplify the University’s continuing commitment to creating a more sustainable work-place’.
The University is also organising a number of other events during Sustainability Week, which will highlight and celebrate other ways in which it contributes to a more sustainable environment.
Links:
http://www.wvn.ac.uk/greenict/
http://paws.aber.ac.uk/roller/paws/
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