Читать книгу Green Homekeeping - Alice Alvrez - Страница 17

Turn Off the Computer at Night

Older folks in the 1990s will remember hearing the standard tip that you should leave your computer running through the night. The problem was that the powering up sequence would surge a large amount of energy through the components, actually causing more wear and tear on your computer.

Today, that no longer applies. Computers use more power if they sit idle all night instead (even when asleep or on standby). Aside from the financial losses, that wasted power can equal about 20 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions to produce all that electricity.

It really only takes a moment to properly shut down and turn off your computer each night, and it’s easy enough to make it a usual habit. Not only will you use less power, you will extend the life of your computer. It needs the chance to cool down. If you do need to leave it running because it’s doing something necessary, turn off the monitor.

There is one instance when letting your computer run at night may be the wiser choice, and that is when you have to run a particularly long process (like a big backup, download, or virus scan). If you live in an area that has electricity charges based on the time of day, it will cost you less to do these things at night.