ENERGY STAR® EZ SAVE program

Introduction
The US Department of Energy, in conjunction with ENERGY STAR, has created a free suite of programs that can manage monitor power usage easily and efficiently. The suite, called EZ Save, is a centrally-administered software too that:

• Polls computers on a network to determine each system's monitor power management settings
• Generates reports on the results of polling
• Sets appropriate power management settings for workstation monitors on the network

The Simplicity of EZ Save
Developed to provide a simple program to manage monitor power management, EZ Save:

• Uses the existing ENERGY STAR power management on your computers' Windows (95/98/ME/2000) operating system
• Activates only those ENERGY STAR features of the workstation's monitor that allow monitors to enter a low power mode during periods of inactivity
• Will not activate any ENERGY STAR settings relating to the hard drive or system power
• Provides simple mechanisms for activating many workstations throught the use of a single command inserted into the network login script.
• Requires no special network programs (such as NLMs or Services), hardware, or technologies.
• Does not install any start up or memory-resident programs on user workstations or activate any special features on the network itself.

Basic Implementation Steps
To use these programs effectively, follow these basic steps:

Step 1: Select the settings for and create the Sample program (which polls monitor power management setttings) and Activation program (which sets monitor power management settings).

Step 2: COpy the Sample and Activation programs to publicly accesible drive on your network with the appropriate rights.

Step 3: Add a line in your login script(s) to run the Sample program, Activation program, or both.

EZ Save Software Suite Components
The software is a series of small programs that either read or slightlt modify workstation Windows Registry entries that control ENERGY STAR settings on the system. The Suite consists of several components:

• The Administration program allows the network administrator to collect, view and report information about current ENERGY STAR settings and to configure the desired power management settings to be enabled on each computer.
• Network Components are installed in a public folder on a file server and run during network login.
  • Sample. A collection program that can be called from the network login scripts to capture information about user ENERGY STAR usage. The Sample program results are logged to the server directory for easy access.
  • Activation. An implementation program that can be used to turn on desktop Energy Star features during network login.
• Optional Components allow for flexibility in implementation.
  • Exempt. A program that can be run on selected workstations so that activation does not occur on them. The Expemt program would be used prior to activation on systems that perhaps need their monitors on at all times.
  • Reset. A program that can be executed by the end user to return an activated system's Energy Star settings back to their pre-activation settings. Optionally residing on the user's desktop or in the Programs menu for easy access, the Reset program is the only program that is installed on a user's system during activation.

Download the EZ SAVE program

More Information
To learn more about the software, please contact: