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Verdiem Helps Seattle Public Schools Turn Energy into Cash
September 20, 2004
Seattle Public Schools demonstrates its strong commitment to energy efficiency by adding
Verdiem’s energy-conserving software to its PC network
Seattle, WA—At a time when schools across America are squeezed for funding, Seattle Public
Schools has found an innovative way to generate much-needed cash. The district, which
encompasses over 100 schools and serves over 45,000 students, is deploying a software program
from Verdiem Corporation that measures, manages, and reduces the energy consumption of over
14,000 PCs. The software will provide an immediate end to the energy waste in these PCs and is
expected to save the district about $200,000 annually.
PCs are voracious consumers of electricity, and their energy use is increasing as faster
processors, more memory, and more power-hungry peripherals become commonplace. According to the
Department of Energy and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, the average PC can waste up
to 400 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year simply by running at full power when no user is
present.
SURVEYOR, Verdiem’s signature product, is a software program that
allows network administrators to synchronize PC power settings across thousands of PCs from one
central location. It adds new flexibility and control to existing PC power options, making these
functions more usable and dynamic. SURVEYOR can shut down PCs, control the power schemes that
determine energy use, or put PCs into low-power modes based on user needs and network maintenance
schedules. “SURVEYOR was developed because every year organizations in the U.S. waste $2 billion
of electricity by leaving computers running when no one is using them,” said Steven Sperry,
Verdiem’s President and CEO.
SURVEYOR is delivering energy and cost savings to PCs spread across the district’s 100 schools
and administrative facilities. Based on extensive pre-deployment testing, SURVEYOR is expected to
reduce the cost to power each PC by an average of $18 per year with the use of user-friendly power
management policies. The savings are expected to increase as these policies are fine-tuned.
“Seattle Public Schools is always seeking innovative ways to use technology to operate more
efficiently,” said Raj Manhas, district Superintendent. “With Verdiem’s software, money spent to
power PCs when no one is using them can instead be used to advance our educational mission.”
Seattle City Light, the public utility that provides the 8.3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity
a year that power the district’s 14,000 plus PCs, played a key role in bringing the parties
together. The utility introduced Verdiem and the district, oversaw pilot projects at several
schools, and made discretionary funds available to support the project. An anticipated reduction
in demand of over 3 million kWh per year from the district’s SURVEYOR-enabled PCs will help
Seattle City Light achieve its own energy efficiency and power planning goals.
Even with SCL’s endorsement, Seattle Public Schools performed extensive technical due diligence
on the software before making its decision to deploy SURVEYOR. Led by Frank Griffin, Manager of
Custodial Services and Grounds, and staff from the district’s IT department, the software was
installed at three schools on 1,000 PCs. SURVEYOR measured the actual energy consumption of the
PCs and demonstrated average savings of over 214 kilowatt-hours per PC. IT staff confirmed that
SURVEYOR functioned correctly, did not impact users negatively, and was compatible with the
district’s network. “We carefully validated the energy savings, technical compatibility, and
user impact of the Verdiem software before deciding on a district-wide roll-out,” said Griffin.
In addition to saving money, SURVEYOR is helping Seattle Public Schools improve the environment.
Over 700 pounds of carbon dioxide -- a major source of greenhouse gas -- are produced in generating
the electricity that powers a typical PC for a year in Washington State. From the energy savings on
their SURVEYOR-enabled PCs, Seattle Public Schools is reducing CO2 emissions by about 1,650 metric
tons every year – the equivalent to removing 270 SUVs from Washington roadways.
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