Being green is not only good for the environment, it makes good fiscal sense. Sacramento County works diligently to green its operations wherever it can including implementing new software to put all County computers and monitors into low-power states after business hours and turn them back on before staff arrives the next morning.
The implementation will conservatively create an annual savings that exceeds $225,000 and a substantial power savings of 1.696 Giga Watt Hours, according to Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD).
With roughly 10,000 computers and monitors, it was challenging to find software that was up to the task – especially since many employees need to access their computers remotely at night. “We’ve wanted to implement this project for several years, but the technology just wasn’t versatile enough for the County’s needs,” said Department of Technology Chief Information Officer Rami Zakaria. “I am certain the project will have a positive impact on the County’s bottom line and green initiatives.”
The software will be phased in over the next few months and project completion is expected by the end of the year. The project is being made possible by SMUD, through its Energy Efficiency Incentive Program. The software costs will be 100 percent covered and the County’s portion is $18,000 a year for on-going maintenance.
The incentive program helps businesses and governments in Sacramento County improve energy efficiency, reduce the need to generate additional electricity and provide cost savings for the SMUD service area rate payer.