Reduce the Energy Used by Your PC

In a report provided by the U.S. Department of Energy the typical wattage used by a personal computer and monitor in a home is 120 watts and 150 watts, respectively. Annual costs for a typical computer and monitor used for 4 hours can be calculated to cost:

(120 + 150 Watts × 4 hours/day × 365 days/year)÷1000
= 394 kWh × 8.5 cents/kWh
= $33.51/year

For a computer and monitor left on for 24 hours each day the cost can be significantly higher:

(120 + 150 Watts × 24 hours/day × 365 days/year)÷1000
= 2365 kWh × 8.5 cents/kWh
= $201.04/year

In addition to the personal computer and monitor, there are other devices such as modems, routers, scanners and printers which also consume energy and contribute to even higher costs.

As shown in the example above, shutting off the computer, monitor and other devices within the home office when not in use can significantly save energy and money.

An option to shutting your computer off is to put it in sleep or hibernation mode. Energy consumption can be reduced as much as 70% when placed in sleep mode and even more when in hibernation mode. Hibernation mode saves the screen to the hard drive and shuts down the computer.  When you restart the computer it restores your screen and applications. These settings can be found in the power options of most computer systems.

For more information on energy efficiency, refer to U.S. Department of Energy at: www.energysavers.gov