Information Resources & Technology (IRT)–

Sustainable IT

It is important to save energy and other resources.

  • Think before you print.
  • When you do need to print, print double-sided.
  • Power down your equipment when it is not in use.
  • Make use of the energy savings capabilities of your computer and other devices.

    • Smart Strips

    The School of Medicine Office of Facilities Planning and Management has recently begun a campaign to lower office-related power consumption via the use of "Smart Strips" power strips. These power strips have a feature whereby there is a blue "control" outlet which switches all white "normal" outlets off whenever the device plugged in to the blue outlet is itself turned off. There are also red "constant hot" outlets which are not switchable. The first School of Medicine building to receive the Smart Strips will be CCSR in July, 2009.

    Here are some pointers or suggestions for implementing the Smart Strip in your office.

    If you DO NOT remotely access your computer (Remote Desktop Connection, etc.)

    Most users probably fall into this category, where you are the only user of your computer, and when you leave your work area, there's no need to have your computer continue to be on. For this type of use-case, you should plug your computer's power cord in to the blue "control" outlet of the Smart Strip, and plug your peripherals (display, speakers, external hard drive, printer, etc.) in to the white "normal" outlets. Therefore, when your computer is shutdown, all of those other devices will stop consuming any (even "stand-by") electricity. If you have some device in your office which should NOT be powered-down when your computer is turned off, then plug that device in to a red "constant hot" outlet.

    If you DO remotely access your computer (Remote Desktop Connection, etc.)

    Some users access their computer (or have others access their computer) remotely, so it's important to have the computer always be powered on. For this type of use-case, you should plug your display's power cord in to the blue "control" outlet of the Smart Strip, your computer in to a red "constant hot" outlet, and plug your non-essential peripherals (speakers, printer, etc.) in to the white "normal" outlets. Therefore, when your display is shutdown (which you could do whenever you leave your work area), your non-essential devices will stop consuming any (even "stand-by") electricity. If you have some additional device in your office which should NOT be powered-down when your computer is turned off, then plug that device in to a red "constant hot" outlet.

     

    For more information about sustainable IT at Stanford, see the Sustainable Stanford website.

     

     

    Stanford Medicine Resources:

    Footer Links: