12.07.07How to reduce computer energy consumption |
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Computers in the United States are responsible for the unnecessary production of millions of tons of greenhouse gases every year.
With rising energy prices and the threat of global warming everyone could stand to conserve energy. You can save up to $100 per desktop PC annually through power management. Monitor power management can save $10 to $40 per monitor and up to $60 per desktop computer annually (or even more when you have really high energy consuming computer). There are seven basic steps that you can take to conserve energy:
1. Switch off Computer when not in use
Shut down your computer or place it in a standby mode when you leave home or office for more than two hours. A computer in idle mode uses 20 to 50 times the power of a computer in standby mode.
2. Apply energy saving Power Schemes
Configure your monitor to turn off after 20 minutes of inactivity, your hard drive to turn off after 30 minutes of inactivity, and your desktop computer or laptop to go into a standby or sleep mode after 90 minutes of inactivity.
Go to : Right-click on desktop -> Properties -> Screensaver -> Power.
3. Switch off monitor when not in use.
Monitor can use considerable amounts of energy. CRT monitors use much more energy than LCD monitors, so consider replacing your monitor. In U.S. companies alone, more than $1 billion a year is wasted on electricity for computer monitors that are turned on when they shouldn’t be.
4. Switch off all peripherals
All peripherals, even in standby mode, use energy. They just have to be ready for action all the time. Switch off all peripherals or disconnect from energy source (even when switched off peripherals use small amounts of energy). The good idea is to plug computer and all peripherals into power strip and turn power strip off when it is not in use.
5. Do not use screensavers
Screensavers do not conserve energy as they continue to use the monitor at full power. These programs use additional power and often prevent a computer from going into “sleep” mode. If you have to use screensavers (or just love them) use ones that use least processing power.
6. Keep the system clean
Try reducing the amount of junk files, programs in your PC. Try not to load unwanted or unused software’s, which consume lots of PC’s resources, which in-turn consume more energy. Remove unused programs and junk files with registry cleaning software (use e.g Registry Mechanic ), reduce number of programs that start with Windows startup (use e.g. Hijackthis, ). Also, your computer will run much more smoothly.
7. Let your computer go to sleep
Certain applications, such as some games and third party software, will run in the background and prevent your computer from going into sleep mode. Be sure to close these down completely. Some web sites will not allow your computer to enter into sleep mode because of active advertisements and banners. Some peripherals, Wi-Fi antennas and infrared ports might also prevent your computer from going to standby mode. Allow your power management function to work properly!
If you prefer a sexier way of configuring your computer’s power usage then check out the new CO2 Saver for Windows XP and Windows Vista. You can reduce the amount of energy your computer and monitor use when they are idle and prevent extra CO2 emissions from being generated. 
What’s more, CO2 Saver shows you the amount of CO2 you’ve saved. Basically it does the same thing as setting up power schemes, but it’s cool to know how much of CO2 you’ve saved. Other software: EZ wizard - Program automatically changes period of time of computer inactivity before monitor is turned off. Apple Monitor Energy Saver - Power saver for Apple OS users.
So, now you can start saving your Earth and your money.
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