India Inc turns to smart energy

A 65 watt power processor in a computer consumes about 234 KW power if it works for 12 hours a day for 300 days. If there are an estimated 15 million PCs in India, then it could result in consumption of 35.25 terra watts of power a year— which means a whopping 4,92,748,000 barrels of oil to produce that amount of energy.

This is just one aspect of the energy crunch facing India. According to the Central Electricity Authority, at the current annual generation capacity of 1,35,000 MW, there’s a shortage of nearly 10% and it will only get worse. No wonder that the corporate sector is opting for intelligent power usage. Companies are designing innovative products and programmes to increase energy efficiency and cut costs.
For example, IBM has integrated energy conservation into its environmental management system since 1974. Between 2000-2005, it reduced PFC emissions by 58% and made the technology available to others in the industry.

In India, they launched Intelligent Energy Campaign last year and Project Big Green in June 2007. ‘‘The initiative includes new products and services for clients to sharply reduce data centre energy consumption, transforming the world’s business and public technology infrastructures into ‘green’ data centres,’’ says Reji Kumar Pillai, head, energy and utilities, IBM India.

Statistics show IT data centres consume 15 times more energy per sq ft than a typical office building and, in some cases, may be 100 times more energy intensive. According to IDC, expenditure on power and cooling in data centres is growing at eight times the rate of expenditure on hardware. So ‘‘green teams’’ of energy efficiency specialists, as set up by IBM, is a step forward.

‘Green’ buildings is another concept fast gaining popularity. Commercial buildings are responsible for at least 40% of energy use in most countries. Industry estimates say ‘green’ buildings can save up to 50% energy, 35% of water usage and improve employee productivity by up to 10%. Adds Manoj Mathur, regional head, Trane India Ltd which helps make ‘green’ buildings, ‘‘Better usage of heat from the building can also be done. For example, in the process of cooling buildings, a lot of heat is wasted. This heat can be captured and used for a wide range of applications, like water heating etc.’’

Times of India