Sleepy and green - Vista runs environmentally cleaner and financially cheaper

In a recent press release, Microsoft revealed that the latest version of the Windows operating system can help reduce power consumption and waste for individuals and corporations.

Microsoft commissioned an independent study to investigate the potential energy cost savings involved in using Vista, compared with using its predecessor Windows XP.

According to Microsoft, the results of the study by British based PC Pro Labs, titled “"Power Consumption, Windows Vista versus Windows XP"”, demonstrated ‘clearly’ that the power management features of Windows Vista – specifically its automatic ‘sleep mode’ - could reduce carbon dioxide emissions from 200 PCs by 45 (empirical) tonnes annually1.

The Microsoft Windows Kernal development team were also partnered with the EPA and National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) in the US in order to make Vista cheaper to run and more environmentally friendly. They published research that “showed that a typical desktop PC and LCD monitor sitting idle for a year (outside of business hours) would consume 632 kilowatt hours of energy — compared to 34 in sleep mode.”1

One of the best features of Vista’s new sleep mode is that, unlike XP’s implementation, the PC revives in only a couple of seconds. This means that the fiscal and environmental benefits are secured with a minimal interruption to productivity.

This is clearly an improvement over XP, which can take some time to revive and if hibernation is not activated, can mean that ‘system standby’ requires recovery of any open documents.

References and Further Reading

1. Anonymous. "Why Pcs Should Get More Sleep: Energy and Cost Savings Can Really Add up with Windows Vista’s Innovative Power Management Capabilities."  2007. Presspass - Information for Journalists.  Microsoft Corporation. 1st April 2007 2007. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2007/mar07/03-21vistapowermgmt.mspx