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Computers in Education Buildings Nearly Double Over 13 Years

The rising adoption of computers for students brings school and university buildings nearly on par with office buildings.

Look out cubicle land: Education buildings are giving office buildings a run for their money when it comes to computers.

Classrooms in schools and universities have a whopping 2,353 computers per million square feet — nearly double the numbers from 1999, and are only trailing office buildings by 766 computers, according to an analysis of 2012 survey results from the U.S. Energy Information Administration released Wednesday, Feb. 3, that included data from 5,557 buildings — 389 education buildings and 1,012 office buildings. This explosion in computing devices comes as K-12 schools continue their efforts to give each student access to a computer. 

Desktops overwhelmingly topped the list of computers with more than 1,600 per million square feet compared to their laptop counterparts at about half that number. Interactive whiteboards and TV and video displays fell at the bottom with less than 250 per million square feet.

The true numbers, however, are likely much higher than these figures given how many people bring personal mobile devices to campus. While this survey didn't measure mobile devices, researchers plan to include some questions on personal devices in the 2017 survey. And that's important as more schools encourage students to use their personal devices, and college students bring multiple devices on campus.

By taking an inventory of what education buildings have, education leaders can figure out a way to deal with any inefficiencies.

"If you don't have a complete understanding of everything that's being used on a regular basis, it's hard to make any improvements or to make a solid plan," said Danni Mayclin, survey statistician at the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

When it comes to energy impact, a desktop computer with one monitor typically uses 469 kilowatthours, a laptop uses 24 kilowatthours, and a TV or video display uses 1,252 kilowatthours, according to a 2014 report created for the administration. While a single computer may not affect a building's energy use too much, several thousand computers can pack a punch. 

The Alliance to Save Energy recommends five practices designed to help education institutions be more efficient with their computers:

  1. Set computers to go into "sleep" mode when they're not actively used.
  2. Turn off monitors that aren't needed for the next class.
  3. Shut down computer equipment at the end of each day and on weekends.
  4. Start a student energy patrol to help keep up these practices.
  5. Buy Energy Star equipment when purchasing new technology.
Some of these recommendations are easier said than done, though, particularly with older computers that take several minutes to boot up once they've been shut off. And energy-efficient equipment isn't always in the cards when budgets are tight.