As part of initiatives like NAU’s Climate Action Plan and the Smart Campus Master Plan, we’re working to make university technology use more energy efficient, environmentally responsible, and cost-effective.

While exact figures are still being calculated, initial estimates from the Office of Sustainability suggest a $70-80,000 annual savings from these changes.

Many of our campus computer labs already have power management settings configured, and our current and updated configurations as of this release are as follows;

Windows computers in classrooms and labs

• Displays will sleep after 20 minutes of inactivity.

macOS devices in classrooms and labs

• macOS displays will sleep after 2 hours of inactivity;
• macOS devices will power on at 7 AM on weekdays;
• macOS devices will shut down nightly at 11 PM.

macOS devices in Cline Library 

• macOS displays will sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity.

We use different management platforms for NAU devices, and each offers unique configuration options. Our settings reflect what’s currently possible and effective on each platform.

Turn off and unplug computers and other devices when not in use. This can be easily accomplished by using a power strip to simultaneously power off all of your office devices. Some devices still use energy when plugged in, even if they are turned off, which is known as vampire, or standby energy. Estimates for how much energy use comes from vampire energy range from 5-25%, but even if we reduced our campus energy use by the most conservative estimate of 5%, NAU could save approximately 2,833,515 kilowatt hours of energy and $296,000 in electricity bills per year! If you want to learn more about energy conservation and become a peer leader in your department, sign up for the Office of Sustainability’s Energy Mentors program.

For additional questions or concerns about this change, contact the ITS Service Desk.