Events

Campus Energy Management via the IP Network: A Feasibility Study for Achieving Energy Efficiency via EnergyWise
Client:  Cisco Systems
Faculty Advisor: Jarod Kelly
Student Group Members:
Sarah Howie, MBA/MS Sustainable Systems
Bryan Hogle, MBA/MS Sustainable Systems
Tim Haines, MS Sustainable Systems
Hunt Briggs, MBA/MS Sustainable Systems

The goal of the project is to investigate the current state of and future potential for IT-based energy management technologies at the University of Michigan. The project consists of three components. The first centers on a live implementation of Cisco’s EnergyWise network architecture on small segments of University networks. This will allow for a quantification of the potential energy savings for IP-connected devices (computers, switches, routers, phones, etc.) within a test group of network components and for projections of potential savings within a larger context at the university. Researchers will better understand how various EnergyWise usage policies (rules that determine when EnergyWise puts connected IP-devices into low power states to reduce energy consumption) affect energy savings and user acceptance of the software. The second component of the project is an identification and mapping of the organizational relationships within the university that affect the installation and activation of a network-based energy management tool such as EnergyWise. The final component is an examination of how and why IT-based energy management efforts at universities differ from those of commercial and industry sectors with particular attention on organizational and incentive structures.