Data centers are massive energy guzzlers: Green IT and green coding are intended to curb the energy hunger of data centers. Photo Taylor Vick via Unsplash
There is no question that digitalization comes with a lot of necessary energy. In order to make the whole thing as sustainable as possible, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Consumer Protection (BMUV), in cooperation with the MSG Group, provides information about green programming in workshops.
BMUV and MSG explain the influence of software on energy consumption
Despite all the advantages of digitalization, one must not forget that software has an influence on energy and resource consumption. Every line of code plays a role because the more energy is required, the more CO2 is emitted.
The Federal Environment Ministry also knows this, which two years ago created a platform with the “Sustainable Digitalization” community to ensure networking within the industry. They also commissioned the MSG Group to set up a series of workshops to ensure greater visibility in this area.
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Greentech LIVE Conference BMUV MSG Green Coding Hans-Peter-Keilhofer
Green coding reduces the carbon footprint
The workshop covers a lot, from basics to ideas.
“It’s about reducing the energy consumption of an overall software system,” explains Hans Peter Keilhofer from MSG at the Greentech.LIVE conference.
He says that the requirements for software have to adapt to the current situation. In addition to the functional requirements of professional competence and non-functional aspects such as efficiency and safety, energy consumption must also be taken into account as a requirement in order to reduce emissions.
“Green coding can help reduce the carbon footprint.”
New tool for measuring energy consumption at the method level
Green coding – i.e. more sustainable, environmentally friendly programming – affects all areas of the coding process. This includes requirements, IT architecture, implementation, testing and operations.
The MSG Group therefore developed a tool called jPowerMonitor as part of an innovation project.
“This is a tool that measures energy consumption at the method level. “The developer can measure his program and see how much energy this method that I have just developed actually consumes,” explains Keilhofer. “If necessary, he can implement algorithms multiple times and compare them with each other in order to choose the most energy-efficient one.”
Rechenzentrum Green IT Data center Photo Taylor Vick via Unsplash
Green coding goes hand in hand with software efficiency
The workshops also cover topics such as selective testing, the “Blue Angel” environmental label as well as case studies and research projects.
In general, it is important to ensure greater sensitivity towards the topic.
“Bad software comes from ignorance”
“Bad software comes from ignorance. There are many pitfalls that young programmers in particular fall into. “You can make a lot of mistakes that lead to inefficiency,” says Keilhofer.
But it also depends on the requirements of the programs and the users.
“There are programs that have many functions that are not used at all, but still take up memory,” he explains. “And if I as a user demand real-time processing, that costs an enormous amount of energy.”
Not an all-encompassing solution, but many important factors
The following rule applies: faster algorithms and software lead to better energy efficiency and less electricity required in the data center.
However, Keilhofer admits that there is no all-encompassing solution.
“It’s not the case that you can give one tip that is correct in all aspects. Studies show, for example, that importing software into the cloud saves 80 to 90 percent energy. On the other hand, you have to consider: Is the cloud powered by green energy? Do we know how much energy is used in the data center?”