You can reduce your power costs by simply shutting down desktops computers and monitors when they aren’t in use. This approach can save 50% on electricity costs, says Nemertes Research.

On average, businesses that implemented automatic power management reduced their power consumption by 20%.  That translates to $100,000 for a company with 1,000 desktop computers,

Turning systems on and off can be automated with a variety of software applications for this purpose.  Demand for such software has skyrocketed.  These applications have the intelligence to know when it is OK to shut down a system.   Products typically require a client application installed on each machine. Typical cost is $40 per desktop. 500 PCs at an electricity rate of 17 cents a kwh (using the average of 200 watts) can save $75,000/year by operating only 12 hours Monday thru Friday. The return on investment would be roughly three months.