Today’s impressive statistic comes courtesy of this Computerworld article that explores how the defense contractor is cutting energy costs, to the tune of  “$23 million in annual savings” in 2010 with a host of energy efficient IT strategies.

One of the ways the IT sustainability pros at Raytheon are achieving this is by taking a less aggressive approach to cooling IT equipment.

In a successful test of an energy-saving strategy in 16 of the 150 telecommunications closets at the Tucson, Ariz., campus, he says, IT cut energy use in each closet by 30% when it raised the temperature by 10 degrees Fahrenheit to 75 degrees — well within the range that vendors recommend.

While virtualization and less power hungry equipment also help, companies are discovering that servers can take the heat data centers better than they thought. That’s not only a testament to how well engineered servers are in this day and age, but it’s also a reminder to take a good hard look at all the specs, including the oft-ignored recommended temperature ranges.

Raytheon is already benefiting from drilling down into that part of the literature. You should too.

Image credit: SweetCakery – Flickr