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Energy Sucking Computers

Energy Sucking Computers published on 5 Comments on Energy Sucking Computers

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There was a NY Times article last week on how to keep your computer green. They had some obvious tips, such as, unplug the darn thing when it’s not in use. But we all know to do that with every electrical appliance, right?

Here are some other fun facts and pointers:

According to the EPA, a standard PC and monitor left on all the time consumes 1,109 kilowatt-hours a year. Energy efficient refrigerators use about 514 kilowatt-hours a year. 

Your computer should be set to go to sleep. Check. But FYI, screensavers may use your hard drive to power up, and photo screensavers may require use of a graphics card. The article says screensavers are a no no.

Google has a free power-management tool you can download. It will show you how much energy you can save by adjusting various settings and will make those adjustments for you in a few clicks. 

Laptops are greener than desktops because they have been designed as such. But since desktops are easier to upgrade, they last longer.

According to Greenpeace, Nokia is the frontrunner in green computers.

Finally, when your computer dies, as mine is doing now, check out Computer Take Back for info on recycling. 

5 Comments

I know Blackle is all the rage in one office at my school,* but the energy savings are only realized on CRTs. LCDs, because of the way they operate, probably consume more energy on Blackle than on Google.

*Where they use LCDs, incidentally.

The Fiance was down on Wall Street in the early evening last week and walk past an alleyway behind one of the big investment companies and he saw dozens…literally dozens of cpu’s, monitors and laptops sitting next to the dumpsters. He was about to check out a few of them when a van pulled up and a few big guys got out and sort of suggested that this was their turf for dumpster diving.

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