Should you turn off your computer every night? Or should you just let it run all the time? Will it reduce the lifespan of my machine to turn it off and on a lot?
This has been a debate for quite a while. But studies show that computers use considerable electricity even when idle. From the University of Colorado Environmental Center: “Assuming you operate a PC system day and night without turning it off, direct annual electrical costs would be over $125 (at $0.075/kWh). In contrast, if you operate your system just during normal business hours, say 40 hours per week, the direct annual energy cost would be about $30 – plus, of course, the cost of providing additional cooling.”
$30.00 may not seem like a lot, but when you multiply that by millions of computer users, it certainly adds up. And no – it won’t affect the lifespan of your machine to switch it off at night.
Also, if you’re a Windows user, Windows tends to build up problems over time (you may have noticed!). A daily reboot never hurts.
Power Management Helps, Too
According to the EPA, using “sleep mode” reduces computer energy use by 60 to 70 percent – and ultimately could save enough electricity each year to power Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, cut electric bills by $2 billion, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of 5 million cars.
Follow these steps to manage the power management features for Mac and Windows.
Windows:
- Point your cursor at the desktop background and right-click
- Choose “Properties” from the pop up menu
- Go to the “Screen Saver” page; in the lower right-hand corner click the “Power” button. This brings up another dialog box where you choose power management settings.
Macintosh (I don’t have a Mac so I hope this is current!):
- From any application select the Apple menu
- Select “System Preferences...” (OS X) or “Control Panels” (OS 9) and then click on “Energy Saver”
The EPA recommends 20 minutes for monitor sleep and 30 minutes for system sleep.
More Tips
Here are a few more green computing tips I’ve compiled over the last few months:
- Use a flat-panel monitor - they use about half as much electricity as a cathode-ray tube monitor.
- Turn off screensavers, they aren’t necessary with flat-panel screens.
- If your company offers telecommuting, consider trying it (or offering it to your own employees). It saves energy and money for the business, wear and tear on employee cars, and has been shown to boost employee morale – even teleworking just one day per week.
- Look for the Energy Star logo when buying new computer equipment.
- Dell, Apple and other computer manufacturers offer a take-back recycling program for your used computers when you purchase new machines from them.
Check out http://www.greenercomputing.com for more information about how to go greener. And if you’re looking for a new computer, here are some computer shopping tips.
Web datacenters use a lot of power. That’s why Red Kite Creative’s hosting service, NOCO Hosting, is pleased to report that it is now using completely wind-powered servers. Learn more at http://www.nocohosting.com/green_hosting.html and get 15% off when you sign up for a new hosting account by March 1, 2009. Enter the promo code ‘greenco’ to get the discount.
If you have questions about this month’s topic, please contact me. I’ll be happy to help you!
© 2008, Debbie Campbell, Red Kite Creative LLC.