The Queen's Applied Sustainability Research Group and the Webster Group of Queen's University are collaborating on a project to improve the energy efficiency of IT/S.
Mech425 GreenIT Project[edit | edit source]
Through Queen`s University`s Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering course Mech425, students are developing an open source database of energy conservation measures (ECMs) which can be used to evaluate the economic and environmental benefits of numerous technologies, systems, and processes. By quantifying the economic and environmental benefits in a standard and transparent form, it is hoped that these ECMs will provide businesses and homeowners with reliable information to assess the feasibility of improving their environmental impact, and simultaneously, their bottom line.
This page is for Green IT projects for Mech 425. You can download the 14 page project File:MECH425 green ITS Project Final Jan 20.doc in doc format. Thus you can edit the consent forms, etc.
For more information see Category:Queens Green IT and Hardware replaced by a smartphone
To keep people from editing your work - please put the following: {{425inprogress|Month Day, Year}}
Queens Green IT ECMs[edit | edit source]
| Welcome to our set of open-source Energy Conservation Measure (ECM) calculators for use by organizations. These have been developed in Microsoft Excel by Queen's University students and faculty and have been pretested in organizations. We hope that they will assist organizations in justifying the implementation of sustainable information technology and system (Green IT) initiatives in their organizations.
Each ECM calculator includes a worked example, showing both economic and environmental cost/benefit analyses. In order to determine the potential expected outcomes for their companies, organizations can modify the numbers in the ECM calculators to reflect their own situations. Because the ECMs are open-source, organizations are also free to modify the calculations within Excel as they see fit. Each file has been checked for accuracy and completeness. However, if errors or additions are discovered by any user during analysis, they are encouraged to mark the changes, and re-upload the document under a different file name but in the same file format (.xls), staying as close to the original organizational structure as possible. Main website: Green ITS Research |
Funding[edit | edit source]
- Funding is available for electricity conservation projects through the Ontario Power Authority's Conservation Fund. The fund supports projects that help to build capacity for conservation programs in the marketplace and test new or unique conservation program elements. Please go to http://www.powerauthority.on.ca/cfund/ for further information. The next deadline for submitting an expression of interest is August 26.
Resources[edit | edit source]
Recommended Readings[edit | edit source]
A few resources indirectly related to improving energy efficiency of IT/S are listed here as extra sources not included in the literature review:
- [2]Saving Electricity Website that describes how much energy is used by different household appliances, and shows you how to calculate your energy savings if you switch to more efficient models.
- [3] Sustainable Business Practices: IISD Checklist Website that describes ways of advancing the green nature of a business. Suggests methods of conservation, and provides links to case studies.
Projects[edit | edit source]
Double-sided / multi-page printing
Energy efficient printers / copiers
Consolidate printers / copiers / fax / scanners
Teleconferencing + document sharing
Video conferencing + document sharing
Energy-efficient PC/workstations
Energy-efficient monitors
Putting screens, computers on standby
Use power bars for hardware / smart bars
Solar power
Recycle eWaste and donation (end of life)
Turning off lights / motion sensors
Power off copiers
Cartridge-free printers / copiers
Telecommuting
Automatic shut-down (off) of computers/monitors/hardware
Carbon management systems
Replace incandescent light bulbs with CFL
Collaborating documents electronically
Online training
Virtualization of servers
Vendimizer
Document management systems
Cleaning up storage: disk cleanup, defragmenter, etc.
Environmental management systems
Consolidation of data centre hardware
Virtualization of data centre
Move from Thick client to Thin client computers
Proper insulation of windows / building
Regular repair and maintenance of vehicle fleet
Convert vehicle fleet to hybrid
Use of rechargeable batteries
Energy monitoring
Energy efficient software
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QShare is a secure space for data storage provided by Queen's ITServices department. Permissions can be set to allow and restrict permissions of each user from each directory or file within the account. Temporary access can be granted to those outside of the university to share files with third-parties. The following outlines the basics for accessing the Green IT space on the server.
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- Go to https://www.queensu.ca/gazette/stories/qshare-file-storage-and-sharing-service-be-decommissioned, and login in the top-left corner with your NetID and original NetID password. If this is your first time logging into the QShare server, an account will be created for you automatically. When your login information has been entered, click Go.
- Under the Bookmarks title on the left menubar, select Root/ which takes you up to the highest level directory you have access to on the QShare server. Then select Groups, then MME, then Queen's Applied Sustainability Group, then Green IT. You are now in the directory to which you have been grated full access to read, write and delete files. (Note that some directories (folders) may appear that you do not have access to. These folders will simply not open when clicked, or will require a password to proceed further.)
- Once you are in the appropriate directory, you can upload and download files, create new sub-directories, and move or copy files on the server between new or existing directories.
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First, some basic terms or definitions:
- Upload: To save a copy of a file on the computer you are working on to the secure space on the QShare server. The document (which can be of any file type) is now accessible online to those who have sufficient access privelges). To upload a document or file, click Upload on the top menubar, and select the file from your computer, similar to attaching the file to an email.
- Download: To get a copy of a file on the QShare serve onto your computer, click the Download button on the top menubar. This will download the file to your default download folder, as set by your computer/browser. You may want to check your browser options to see where downloaded files are saved to.
- Read: Allows a copy of the document to be downloaded or viewed by anyone with 'Read' permissions for the particular file or directory. A file with Read-only permissions cannot be written over, or edited online by any user.
- Write: Allows a copy of the document to be downloaded or viewed, edited and uploaded again, perhaps over top of the pre-existing document, onto the QShare server. The file has now been changed and the previous version removed from the QShare server.
- Delete: Allows users with sufficient permissions to remove a file from the QShare server. The file is moved from its existing directory to the Trash folder, which is emptied when the user logs out of the QShare space, or can be done manually by clicking the Emptry Trash button at the bottom of the left menubar.
- Bookmark: A bookmark allows quick access to any directory on the QShare space. When viewing a particular directory, click the Add Bookmark icon in the blue ribbon displaying the directory location. This will place a link on the Bookmarks menu of the left menubar. Once logged into QShare, you can click this bookmark to take you directly to that folder.
- Up: This button on the top menubar will move you up to one higher level in the directory hierarchy. For example, clicking Up in the Green IT folder will bring you back up to the Queen's Applied Sustainability Group directory.
For more information about QShare and its capabilities, check out these great tutorials from ITS to help you navigate. There is also an FAQ page outlining some more common questions about QShare, its intended purpose and its use.