Power IT Down Day 2010

As we approach the end of August, we can look back at what has been one of the hottest summers in quite some time. In Washington, D.C., we witnessed record-breaking temperatures for warmth. And with the summer heat comes increased energy use, as we use extra electricity to power our air conditioners and keep our IT equipment cooled.

The hot weather makes it perfect timing that Power IT Down Day is scheduled for the end of this week. Power IT Down day is an annual event that encourages public sector agencies and industries that serve them to power down their IT equipment at the end of the work day to help the government reduce its energy consumption. It’s a simple commitment that HP is very proud to support – those who sign up at PowerITDown.org will commit to turning off all of their IT equipment this Friday, Aug. 27, before they leave for the weekend.

Last year, Power IT Down day encouraged more than 5,500 people to turn off their computers, monitors, and printers, resulting in enough energy savings to power the homes of 77 U.S. families for an entire month. With this year’s event falling on a Friday, each individual can save tens of thousands of additional kilowatt hours by leaving their equipment off for the entire weekend.

What’s more, HP and other sponsors of the event have committed to make a donation to the Wounded Warrior Project to demonstrate how the money saved from reducing energy consumption can be put to good use. Last year, Power IT Down Day sponsors donated $45,000 to the Wounded Warriors, and we are excited to provide another donation this year to help honor and empower wounded soldiers.

HP has been really conscious about powering down over the past few years. We’ve even introduced the HP Power Assistant to help users understand and estimate what running their notebooks costs them —in dollars, kilowatt hours and even carbon.

Although the event is only for this weekend, the messages from the event should stick with us throughout the year. Whether in the heat of August or the snowstorms of January, we can save an incredible amount of energy and money by taking the simple step of turning off our computers and peripheral equipment at the end of each day.

If you are interested in more information about the event, GovLoop is also featuring a write-up this week on Power IT Down day, including a video interview I recently conducted with Dave Smith of Citrix about the event.