Hub firm rises to challenge of green computing

By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff  |  January 24, 2007

Prodded by fears of global warming and surging electric bills, corporate computer users are demanding more energy-efficient machines, and the federal government is preparing to issue tough new standards for greener machines. Tech Networks of South Boston is ready.

Susan Labandibar gave up a career in environmental activism in 1994 to launch Tech Networks of Boston, which supplies computer networks to small businesses and non profits. But Labandibar never abandoned her ideals, and she was always troubled that the electricity needs of the powerful computers she sold were flooding the air with greenhouse gases.

"We didn't have a product that was particularly ecological in any way shape or form," said Labandibar. "There were so many negatives about the computers we were making that I didn't think there was any hope for it."

But last year, Labandibar unveiled a new line of computers that could help combine her concern for the environment with commercial success. The company's new Earth-PC and Earth-Server machines use at least 25 percent less power than standard computers, and could save businesses with many computers thousands of dollars a year.

Energy concerns are beginning to drive change across the computer industry. Major computer makers such as Dell Inc. and Hewlett Packard Co. are also trying to meet the demand by touting "green" machines that do more work with less wattage.

The US Environmental Protection Agency is also turning up the heat on computer makers, with an overhaul of its Energy Star efficiency ratings for computers. The tougher standards, which take effect in July, aren't mandatory. But the federal government buys only Energy Star-compliant computers, so companies must either meet the standard or be frozen out of one of their biggest markets.

Labandibar believes the machines emerging from her Southie shop today can compete with anything the big companies can offer. In addition, the green machines from Dell and HP are mainly targeted at high-end business customers who face soaring energy costs because of the high numbers of machines they operate; the companies don't yet offer energy-saving technologies across their entire product range. By contrast, Tech Networks mainly sells its efficient machines to smaller firms.

A standard desktop computer -- not including the monitor -- uses about as much power as a 100-watt light bulb. Building a more efficient computer starts with an obscure but vital component -- the power supply. This box of circuitry takes electricity from a wall outlet, lowers its voltage, and distributes the power to the computer's various components -- the motherboard, hard drives, CD-ROM drive. The cheaply made power supplies in most computers waste up to 40 percent of the electricity they take in, spewing it out as heat that can damage hard drives and other components. Companies respond by cranking up their air conditioning systems, thereby using more energy.

Under pressure from the computer industry, component makers have introduced power supplies that are guaranteed to be 80 percent efficient, with no more than 20 percent of the electricity going to waste. The supplies are more expensive, but utilities, including Boston's NStar , have funded a program called 80 Plus to encourage computer makers to use the new power supplies. When a company such as Tech Networks sells an 80 Plus-compliant computer to someone who buys power from NStar, the utility pays a rebate to Tech Networks -- $5 for desktop computers or $10 for server computers, which generally run around the clock.

Jason Boehlke , a manager for the 80 Plus program, said that reducing waste to less than 20 percent of electric use reduces electricity cost by about $20 a year per computer, based on Massachusetts power costs, and saves still more money in reduced cooling costs. Labandibar estimates that the savings are much higher -- about $46 a year. Multiplied by the dozens or hundreds of computers found in many businesses, it is a significant discount.

Tech Networks saves its customers still more money by using the power-saving software that comes with every computer that runs Microsoft Corp.'s popular Windows operating systems. Windows can be set up to put computers in a low-powered "standby" mode, or an even lower-powered "hibernation" mode, but few users take the trouble of setting up these features. Indeed, they're sometimes turned off because they can interfere with automated computer maintenance tasks like antivirus sweeps or file backups. Tech Networks uses special software that lets machines sleep when idle, but wake up to run maintenance tasks. For a computer that's switched on 24 hours a day, Labandibar figures the sleep software will cut power cost by about $100 a year.

A standard Earth-PC costs about $800, about $70 more than comparable PCs, according to Labandibar. But the power savings over several years more than cover the extra cost, she said.

John O'Callaghan , operations manager of Phoenix Bay State Construction Co. Inc. of Boston, has not calculated how much money he's saved since installing 12 Earth-PCs and an Earth-Server six months ago. But after nine years of doing business with Tech Networks, he says he will take Labandibar's word that the machines are more efficient. "The absolute trust is there," said O'Callaghan. "If I didn't trust her or the company, . . . I would have done a lot more investigating." Besides, he said, the computers have worked flawlessly, and they appear to run much cooler than the machines they replaced.

Tech Networks will soon have plenty of company in its green computing campaign. Hewlett Packard in December became the first major computer maker to join the 80 Plus program. The company will begin selling computers with the upgraded power supplies early this year. "We've been hearing from our customers that they're very interested in knowing what's out there that can help them reduce power consumption," said Todd Kruse, global desktop product manager.

That's fine with Labandibar, whose company donated $15,000 to environmental causes last year. She hopes all computer makers and users adopt more efficient machines. Labandibar expects to stay competitive by coming up with new ways to make computers greener. For instance, the company is trying to shift its clients from desktops to laptops, which use less power to preserve battery life. Labandibar is also studying virtualization technologies, which allow a single server computer to do the work of several machines.

"We're constantly researching this stuff," said Labandibar. "We're always going to be ahead of the curve."

Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com.