The possibility of a 33% hike in electricity costs could have a significant impact on bottom line profitability for South African companies, says Philip Hampton, CTO of power management company, Powermode.
Hampton explains it is possible to cut electricity bills by reducing power consumption in critical areas of the business, such as the data centre or server room, without compromising performance or the availability of critical components.
“By making small but critical changes in the way electronic components are managed, and energy-saving strategies formulated, significant savings can be realised at little or no cost in overhead,” he adds.
To realise electricity saving goals, Hampton advises companies to program equipment, from file servers to uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems and PCs, to 'eco-mode'.
“Electronic equipment can account for as much as 70% of the electricity used in a typical business. For example, a 3kVA UPS - common in small businesses - can use the same energy as needed to power 40 globes of 60W every day,” he points out.
“However, in eco-mode, significant savings can be realised - up to R 1 000 in electricity costs per year from this single device. This is the equivalent of 1.68 tonnes of carbon.”
Hampton warns that South African businesses are wasting millions of kWh of energy each year by not switching off electronic equipment lying idle, or at least switching to eco-mode when applicable.
“By ignoring the eco-mode switch, South Africans are increasing the country's carbon footprint by many million tonnes annually,” he concludes.
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