You don’t have to be a tree hugger to want to reduce your company’s energy consumption. High energy costs and increasing power requirements are driving enterprises to pay closer attention to energy usage.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s overhauled Energy Star ratings for computers also have many IT managers thinking more about how to go green.

 View a slide show of the products.

But where do you start? If you’ve already replaced the incandescent light bulbs in your office with compact fluorescent bulbs, and you’re ready to take the next environmental step, check out our list of green-friendly IT products that could be a fit for your enterprise.

Product: SprayCool M-Series

Company: SprayCool

Technology: Data center liquid cooling system keeps rack-mounted servers cool by removing heat from each server’s CPU, and then from the data center, through a heat exchange with the system’s water loop. The SprayCool M-Series system can support up to 10,800 watts per rack.

Claim to green fame: The cooling system allows data center operators to fully populate racks -- conserving data center space -- while reducing energy consumption and the strain on air-conditioning units. The M-Series system itself is energy efficient, requiring 200 watts per rack.

Potential savings: Typical data centers can reduce their total facility power consumption by 40% or more, SprayCool claims.

Cost: $25,500

Launched: November 2006

Customers: Liberty Lake Internet Exchange, Callison, Mountain Gear

Product: Earth-PC and Earth-Server

Company: Tech Networks of Boston

Technology: Environmentally friendly PCs and servers.

Claim to green fame: Tech Networks says its computers use 25% less power than standard gear due largely to the use of energy-efficient power supplies certified by Ecos Consulting’s 80 PLUS Program. The 80 PLUS performance specification requires power supplies in computers and servers to be 80% or greater energy efficient. The power supplies “waste less power as heat, resulting in additional savings on air conditioning costs,” says Yves Dehnel, a project manager at Tech Networks. Earth-PC and Earth-Server also have the ability to shut down components when idle to further reduce power consumption. The company says they meet the EPA’s updated Energy Star Computer Specifications, which are due to go into effect in July.

Whitepapers

• Selecting Effective Virtual Directories
• Best Practices for HP Servers and HP Enterprise Virtual Array in a Microsoft Exchange
• Compliance, Protection, Recovery: A Layered Approach to Laptop Security
• Endpoint Security: Data Protection for IT, Freedom for Laptop Users
• IT Departments on Data Security: A Research Concepts Survey
• Laptop Security Tool Helps Allina Hospitals Track 97% of IT Assets

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Webcasts

• Managing the End User Experience-A Real World Example of Success
• Lowering the Cost of Email Archives
• Google Webcast: Why archive email? Top challenges and best practices
• High Availability for SQL Server 2005 Using Array-Based Replication and Host-Based Mirroring Technologies
• Technical Overview of Exchange Server 2007 with HP Servers and Storage
• Bringing Order and Security to your Mobile Workforce: Corporate Mobility Policy and Device Management On-Demand

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Special Reports

• Application Performance Management Executive Guide
• Executive Guide: Building a Service Oriented Architecture
• IT Buyers Guide To: Collaboration

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