Energy: Athena

Amber Jaycocks <arj@mit.edu> There are 15 main Athena clusters located throughout the MIT campus, which hold 406 workstations and 29 printers. A large portion of MIT's power is used and wasted to maintain the 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week Athena cluster availability.

Energy Consumption

The energy map below provides a conservative estimate of the buildings and the amount of energy needed to power the Athena workstations.

These Linux models have CD-Write drives

The majority are HP LaserJet 8150

These are *conservative* estimates based on the data from MIT
Location		GX100	GX150¹	Pro¹	Ultra5	Ultra10	Blade100	O2	Printers²	Power³ (W)
		Dell		IBM	Sun			SGI
Student Center	W20-575	7	36	8	20	9	48	0	6	42330
	56-129	10	2	0	5	0	13	0	2	10310
	12-182	5	2	0	17	0	2	0	3	9765
	4-035	0	0	0	0	0	0	20	2	9310
	1-142	0	10	0	0	9	6	0	2	8810
	37-3xx	12	0	0	5	0	3	0	3	7965
	66-080	0	0	8	12	0	2	0	2	7910
	38-370	4	1	0	8	0	7	0	1	6655
	E51-075	0	0	0	17	0	0	0	2	6410
	2-032	0	0	0	0	0	16	0	1	5455
Barker Library	10-xxx	0	0	0	15	0	0	0	1	5155
	2-225	0	13	0	0	0	0	0	1	4555
	4-167	0	0	0	0	0	9	0	1	3355
Rotch Library	7A-1xx	0	0	0	8	0	0	0	1	3055
Hayden Library	14S-0xx	0	0	0	0	0	8	0	1	3055

The majority of wasted energy associated with computers is because they are left on, in the full power mode, when not in use. Turning a computer off and later turning it back on does not incur damage, in fact parts wear quicker from long uptime. MIT's efforts to serve and satisfy the student population are exemplified by the fact that the clusters are always open. Computer availability was observed and averaged over a three day period in-term period. It is evident that a large portion of the computers remain unused during the early morning hours.

MIT's Current Policies

PURCHASING: MIT currently purchases from Dell and IBM. The SGI O2 computers will be eliminated at the end of their life (4 years). MIT purchases directly from the manufacturer and receives a discount.

AVAILABILITY: Athena clusters are ALWAYS open and ALWAYS on, to accommodate the hectic, fluctuating, and pressing schedules of its student-body. However, turning off any Athena equipment is violating the Athena Rules of Use.

PRINTING: Single-sided copies and header pages are the default settings for Athena-User Accounts.

END-OF-LIFE: MIT does not participate in any type of computer "take-back" program or recycling/reusing program. At the end of the workstations life (4 years) the computers are sent to Salvage and disposed of by the MIT Property Office. They are then picked up by a disposal company and most likely sent to a landfill. MIT does not allow students to purchase old machines because in the past students would expect MIT to fix any problems arising after the purchase causing much headache within the

Energy-Star Analysis

Energy-Star monitors can reduce energy usage by 90%
Energy-Star printers can reduce energy usage by 65%
MIT's primary suppliers, Dell, IBM, and Sun, are all Energy-Star partners

The average Athena workstation is purchased from the manufacturer at an average cost of $2000 and has a life of 4 years. Clearly the Energy Star computers are better options both fiscally and environmentally. Total Life Cycle Costs includes the purchase price, energy, and maintenance. Total Annual Operating Costs consists of the maintenance cost, energy cost, and energy consumption.

Student Response

The primary reason MIT does not allow workstations to enter a "sleep" mode after a period of inactivity is because "students assume the computer is out-of-service." 150 students were asked if they would assume a workstation was not working if it was in sleep mode and the screen was black. Most students said that it would not bother them and they would not assume the machine was out of commission.

*Yes, only if the student was unaware of the policy. No, if the student was aware of the policy.

Students suggested the following if workstations were to enter a low power mode after a period of inactivity:

a colored screen rather than black
Editor's Note: This would likely use more energy than the current login screensaver. It would also allow damage (burn-in).
an email stating any changes in policies
small, informative signs inside the Athena clusters

Proposed Alternatives

Energy Efficient Purchasing

MIT should purchase more energy-efficient computers, monitors, printers, and other workstation accessories. MIT would save money and energy by purchasing Energy-Star products from Dell, IBM, HewletPackard, and SunSystems. The new NEC Eco-PC is another alternative for future purchase.

Enter Low-power Mode

Computers should enter a low-power mode after a period of inactivity. Contrary to common belief this does not shorten a computer's life. While in low-power mode, system retains network awareness, such that it responds to tasks directed to it. Subsystems then again enter low-power mode after the specified period of inactivity. During periods of peak activity (multiple logins/logouts), the 5-15 second delay when powering-up could become annoying. There should be a 10-15 minute timeout period to avoid this problem.

Offpeak Shutdown

During periods of peak inactivity all but the most popular clusters should be closed.

Double-sided Printing

Since it takes 10 times as much energy to produce a piece of paper than to copy an image onto it, paper conservation should be the priority. The default setting of printers should be changed to print double-sided rather than single-sided.

Participate in Take-back Programs

Since MIT is only purchasing from Dell, IBM, and Sun and all of them have some type of take back program. MIT should participate in a Boston or Cambridge recycling program or curbside pickup (Recycling Directory).

By making the above changes MIT would produce less heat, use less energy, and save money. MIT can continue to please the student-body while also making changes by adequately alerting them when any changes are going to take place and then reminding them post change. Emails and signs are effective tools for delivering this information. While the energy saved on individual Athena workstations may appear insignificant, the combined savings of all clusters is immense. MIT could be a a leader in eco-friendly computing and make a powerful statement by becoming Energy-Star compliant.

Contacts

The primary reason changes are not made at MIT is due to lack of student input. Concerns from even five or less people can initiate change at MIT. To voice your opinion regarding the inefficient energy usage in the MIT Athena clusters email Brian Murphy, bmurphy@mit.edu