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Conserve IT: A Wikibon Energy Initiative
How green are your products, really? Is your company doing its part to improve energy efficiency? Are you taking advantage of energy rebates for your customers?
Since the 1960's, per capita electricity consumption in the U.S. and Western Europe has risen sharply. By contrast, in California this figure has been flat at around 7,000 kilowatt hours. Why? The answer is largely because of initiatives from the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), and other utilities, to provide an extensive set of programs, services, training, rebates and incentives for customers.
Power in California is severely constrained, slowing the growth of organizations that need electricity for new data centers. As a result, in 2006, California utilities launched an aggressive campaign to bring more conservation discipline to the information technology sector with explicit targets to reduce megawatts consumed by IT equipment in data centers. PG&E and some other utilities have responded and are taking action.
Unfortunately, the IT industry, with a few vendor exceptions, has not given much support to PG&E's industry-leading initiative. Despite all the talk, the number of technologies qualified for rebate incentives is limited. There are three reasons for this:
- The qualification process is often complicated and time-consuming
- In truth, most vendors care much more about selling product than helping customers conserve energy and obtain rebates
- CIO's don't pay the electric bill and aren't yet making product decisions based on energy - but this is changing
Announcing Conserve IT
The Wikibon Project discovered in mid 2007 that most IT and storage technologies were not qualified for rebate incentives and customers were not receiving many rebate checks. On behalf of its user members, Wikibon began lobbying PG&E to consider simplifying the qualification process, using validation methods independently developed by Wikibon.
Wikibon discovered the secrets of obtaining faster qualification from PG&E and other utilities and importantly, quickly securing product-based rebates for customers. To support these efforts Wikibon provides the following services:
- Qualification for storage, server, networking and power-saving software products
- The facilitation of rebate incentives for customers
- The publishing of best practice case studies on data center energy conservation at wikibon.org
Wikibon Energy Lab Validation
As part of the qualification process, Wikibon has launched the Wikibon Energy Labs, an independent verification service that validates energy measurements of vendor products. This capability is a key ingredient of the qualification process providing independent confirmation of energy efficiency. Wikibon works with vendor lab professionals to specify representative workloads and facilitate energy measurements within different components of an IT system. The measurements are performed in the vendor labs and Wikibon Energy Lab validates the measurements and methods utilized. These are then documented and submitted to the utility as part of the approval process, increasing vendor credibility and simplifying the payment of rebates in the field.
Why get your products qualified?
- Validate green marketing investments
- Allow partners and customers to quantify energy savings and get paid for installing energy saving equipment
- Differentiate from products that are positioned as green but really are sub par
- To offset margin pressure with rebates from energy companies
- To demonstrate a corporate commitment to customers, partners, employees and community stakeholders
Benefits of Wikibon's services
- Speed-to-qualification - In a matter of weeks, Wikibon can get your products qualified, which most vendors have been unable or unwilling to accomplish since California utilities launched these programs in 2006
- Increase your productivity - With its knowledge of the process and experience, Wikibon can achieve qualification with much less effort, freeing your staff resources to focus on revenue-producing activities
- Independent confirmation - As an objective research entity, the Wikibon community and the Wikibon Energy Lab provide an impartial perspective that utilities and customers trust
- Exposure - Wikibon's next generation research and advisory platform provides a vehicle for communicating customer success stories in a community setting vetted by peers
- Knowledge transfer - Wikibon is committed to educating IT vendors and users on the process and in the spirit of Wikinomics will provide access to its intellectual property, relationships with utilities and content
Next Steps
How serious are you about energy conservation? Are your products really green? Backup marketing claims, provide an added incentive for customers and demonstrate your commitment to reducing carbon emissions. Contact Ed Parolisi today at ed.parolisi@wikibon.org or call 603-433-0919.