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Cisco Systems introduced software for controlling energy use in networked computing equipment as well as building heating and cooling systems. Called EnergyWise, the software is a free upgrade to Cisco Catalyst switches that can monitor and manage how energy is used on IP-connected devices, including phones and wireless routers. This summer Cisco will release a version, based on Verdiem’s Surveyor PC management software, that reduces energy levels of PCs.

With EnergyWise, a company can set policies on energy use, allowing PCs or networking equipment to go into sleep mode after work hours, for example.

Cisco’s longer-term plan is to get beyond tech gear and into building-automation systems. In the near future, EnergyWise will be able to manage building assets, including heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, and employee badge systems.

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Echelon Corporation and Wonderware, a business unit of Invensys are partnering to bring energy and facility management solutions to market. As part of this partnership, Echelon joins the Wonderware Endorsed Hardware Program – one of only a few companies endorsed for this program – and the Echelon i.LON SmartServer will be integrated with Wonderware software solutions. Wonderware and Echelon’s combined software and hardware solutions will bring facilities more choices in how to connect, manage and control their equipment for operation cost savings and energy conservation. The announcement was made today at the 2009 AHR Expo in Chicago, the world’s largest HVAC&R exposition.

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Verizon Business has identified some of the top tech trends for 2008 and IT being an enabler for green issues is one of them

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Increasingly, converging communications and computing (IT) technologies will be the great enablers to help business and government address global warming by reducing their energy footprints. Use of audio, video and Web conferencing services will more often supersede business travel and reduce carbon emissions while helping increase productivity of employees who are actually working rather than waiting in long airport security lines.

Location-based services integrated into mobile devices and IP-based presence services will also improve the efficiency of field operations by directing delivery drivers and the like to their destinations with greater efficiency and reduced fuel consumption. More consumers and businesses will opt out of paper invoices and statements in favor of electronic options that provide far greater flexibility while saving trees.
”

Source: CNN Money

If your company is planning to build a new data center — and many companies are — it pays to build energy efficiency into your plans. Here are eight fairly easy ideas and technologies for new data centers that you should think about:

1. Air-side economizers not just for the office anymore. A bit like opening a window on a cool day, an air-side economizer takes advantage of cooler outside air to cool the inside of your data center. At the very least, they require much less energy than typical HVAC systems, and often provide free cooling. In the past, data centers avoided the use of air-side economizers because of a belief in the need to maintain tight humidity and temperature controls. The technology has traditionally been very common in many office settings, but today companies like Intel prove that servers are much more durable than previously believed. As a result, air-side economizers are installed more often. The best news? Paybacks can be enormous. A company’s data center could see as much as a 60 or 70 percent reduction in cooling bills compared to those of typical data centers.

2. Centralize your air handling. One simple solution for energy savings is to place your HVAC equipment and your economizers on the roof, or in a separate room on an exterior wall, rather than inside your building. When your equipment is outside the space, it’s easier to reach and maintain than when it’s inside, and it runs much more efficiently.

3. Practice good airflow management. Almost everyone knows that servers require cool air at the front and discharge heated air at the back. And yet ensuring that hot and cold air don’t mix in the wrong places still isn’t top of mind when designing data centers or deploying servers into the room. Ensuring that cool air goes where you need it (and that hot air doesn’t) is as simple as installing “blanking panels” within server cabinets to block the short-circuiting of hot air. You should also put servers back-to-back and front-to-front in a “hot and cold aisle” arrangement. You can even install hot aisle barriers (hot aisle containment) — similar to the plastic sheeting you see in supermarket cold cases — to contain heat at the end of the hot rows and above the cabinets.

4. Roll with a heat wheel. A heat wheel is a type of heat exchanger designed as a big aluminum wheel that both absorbs heat and transfers it from the inside to the outside without introducing outside air into the facility. This provides the same kind of cooling as an air-side economizer, but without the addition of outside air.

5. Change your supply air temperature. Most data centers run at temperatures much cooler than necessary. While typical operating temperatures are usually about 56 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, recent tests by Intel, Sun Microsystems and NetApp have shown that servers can tolerate much higher temperatures as well as higher humidity. If you are using good airflow management in your data center, you can stop worrying about keeping the air conditioned to 56 degrees, and start saving energy and money.

6. Build what you need. Building a modular and scalable infrastructure based upon a logical and consistent power and cooling module will allow the facility to purchase only what is required for its initial computing needs while allowing seamless upgrades and additions as more computing power or space are needed.

7. Monitor, monitor, monitor. Monitor critical load and mechanical power, water consumption, gas consumption, and even waste water. Direct Digital Control (DDC) systems are becoming more common and have the innate ability to monitor and trend anything. As a result, it is simple today to see what is going on within the facility and project usage into the future. In addition, it provides more immediate feedback on implementation of energy saving measures or operational changes.

8. Ask: What is my carbon footprint? Nearly all pundits agree there will be some form of carbon regulation in the future. Knowing your carbon footprint will allow the data center manager or CIO to make informed decisions on data center operations and usage looking toward the future.

To know more, view:
http://www.greenercomputing.com/feature/2008/12/23/greening-your-data-center-cheap

Some of the biggest energy companies in Europe have formed the European Smart Metering Industry Group (ESMIG) in Europe. ESMIG will promote the transformation of the European power grid into a smart grid complete with the latest technologies. The formation of the new smart metering industry advocacy group is timely as the European Industry seeks to achieve lofty energy conservation goals by the year 2020.

All areas of the smart metering industry are well represented by ESMIG including electrical, water, gas, and heat measurement. Member companies that form the coalition represent the entire value chain including smart meter manufacturing, supporting software, consulting, and installation plus technologies that enable communications and promote systems integration.

Membership in ESMIG is open to any company that supplies metering services or products in Europe.

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Cisco Systems Inc. launched in 2009 a major green initiative that includes free software to help customers use their networks to automatically turn off computers and network gear at night and whenever they aren’t being used.

Global Access Point is implementing Cisco EnergyWise software to cut energy use at its data center facility in South Bend, Ind.

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Utilities in many parts of the world, and especially in the United States, are experiencing radical operational change as they deploy smart grid upgrades. To meet this challenge, many utilities are already seeking consulting and implementation services from vendors to assist with smart grid deployments. And even after the infrastructure is in place, utilities will face a new set of challenges associated with ongoing smart grid operations, presenting an expanded opportunity for managed service providers.

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A free webinar on this interesting subject on Sep 28, 2010

Being showcased is Microsoft’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software system for the Waste & Recycling market, called “enwis)” built in Microsoft Dynamics NAV.  ITA WMS Corporation as presenter itself has over 2 decades of experience with enterprise level software system installations and upgrades as a Microsoft Certified Partner.  Industry landing page at www.WasteAndRecycle.com has case studies and further product information on the Microsoft Dynamics NAV with enwis) software system.

Register from here – Link

IBM announced an innovative new chip-making technology for power-management  semiconductors – the company’s first foray into a segment seen as critical to the development of alternative energy sources, smart buildings and new consumer devices.

By using the same chip-making process employed in computers and smart phones, CMOS-7HV can lower the costs of producing these chips while at the same time allowing for the integration of an unprecedented number of new functions – resulting in one chip where previously three or four were needed. Such advancements are critical to the rollout of smart systems where the ubiquity of cheap, single-chip sensors depends on affordable manufacturing technology.

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IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced
innovative new chip-making technology for power-management semiconductors - the
company's first foray into a segment seen as critical to the development of
alternative energy sources, smart buildings and new consumer devices.

Here’s a short post and web resources on the various existing and emerging opportunities for software products and services for the clean technology industry – Link