Here are some essential tips for computer users (released by Tufts University) that will help in reducing the rate of climate change, if not reversing the damage already done. Take a printout and stick it on the wall.
» Turn off your monitor screen manually when you are not using your computer for 15 minutes or longer (e.g., during lunch hour or during meetings).
» Turn off your computer at night and when you are not using it for several hours. The same also applies to copiers, scanners, printers and fax machines.One computer left on 24 hours a day will cost you $115 - 160 in electricity costs a year and dump 1,500 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere.» If you buy a new computer, consider a laptop. Laptops use only 1/4 the energy.
A tree absorbs between 3-15 lbs of CO2 each year. That means that 100-500 trees would be needed to offset the yearly emissions of one computer left on all the time.
» If you buy a new computer monitor for the desktop, consider a flat screen instead of a CRT monitor. LCD monitors use only 1/3 the energy.
» Enable the Power Management feature for your monitor.
Tufts Climate Initiative | Download Tufts Brochure [PDF]
Important: Do not put the computer in
Related: Shut Down the Computer via SMS and Outlook
Reader Comments
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Written on 30/4/07 6:13 PM
Hi Amit,
Just a little bit of confusion here...(I know this may sound weird and stupid, but here it goes..)
What do you mean by "turn off the monitor screen manually"?
Does it mean switching off the monitor by pressing the 'power button on the monitor' or switching it off by 'using the button on my spike guard'?
Btw, I used to put my comp on stand-by before taking a mini break. Now, I'll put off my monitor manually.
Written on 30/4/07 6:31 PM
Vijesh - you got that right. It's about pressing that switch on the computer monitor to turn it off. That should reduce the power consumption.
Written on 30/4/07 6:39 PM
I dont think that putting a computer into Hibernation consumes electricity. After uptting my PC into Hibernation, I can even put off the main switch!!
Written on 30/4/07 7:14 PM
I put my computer into standby mode a lot. Only now I know it's useless. By the way, will placing a computer to standby mode reduce its pressure? I always thought I'm giving the computer a rest when I standby it.
Written on 30/4/07 9:28 PM
Hibernation mode does not use power. From Microsoft:
"When you put your computer into hibernation, everything in computer memory is saved on your hard disk. When you turn the computer back on, all programs and documents that were open when you turned the computer off are restored on the desktop."
Written on 30/4/07 10:50 PM
2 things...
1) Note that on Laptops, you have to learn how to shut off the screen, since it doesn't have a separate power button. Not generally hard to figure out, but it's worth mentioning.
2) As commenters above have said, a hibernating computer is turned off.
Written on 1/5/07 12:51 AM
Hi - for users/IT managers in a Windows Active Directory environment, this is a great free tool to control the power-save mode on all or selected nodes in a network - great for IT Depts. wishing to avoid having to hands-on set quantities of desktops/laptops... from the Energy Star folks at http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=power_mgt.pr_pm_ez_gpo
Written on 1/5/07 2:31 AM
hey Amit,
How is "HIBERNATION" equivalent to leaving the system On? Hibernations is supposed to save the state of the system to the HDD and then shut down the system.
Any takers?
Written on 1/5/07 4:42 PM
When a computer enters hibernation, a snapshot of all computer settings and memory contents of a computer is taken, the information is saved to the local hard disk, and then the computer is turned off. When you restart the computer, all the settings and memory contents are restored to their original state.
Unlike the standby state, the computer does not require power to maintain itself when it enters hibernation. All documents and programs are restored to their original state when the computer comes out of hibernation.
Written on 1/5/07 4:48 PM
steve, rk and baajhan - thanks for correcting me. You guys are absolutely right.
Written on 1/5/07 5:14 PM
Hi,
Could I please get your sources for "dump 1,500 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere.
A tree absorbs between 3-15 lbs of CO2 each year. That means that 100-500 trees would be needed to offset the yearly emissions of one computer left on all the time."
Thank you
Written on 20/6/07 2:53 AM