HOW DO YOU: make your computer energy efficient?

Bob · **Posted:** Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:12 pm

ENERGY STAR settings on your home or office computer are accessed via the Control Panel. Business computers often restrict access to these settings. You may need to talk to your IT department or the person/people who look after your IT systems to assist you.

On a desktop computer running Microsoft Windows:
â€¢ click on the Start menu;
â€¢ in Settings click on Control Panel then select Display.
â€¢ The ENERGY STAR logo should be displayed, click on the Power button;
â€¢ now select the amount of inactive time you want to elapse before your monitor turns itself off when not in use.

You can also set a time period of inactivity after which your computer will go into system standby mode which reduces the amount of energy use even more.

For complete step by step guides on enabling ENERGY STAR features on most computers click here to visit the ENERGY STAR website

PLEASE SHARE ANY TIPS YOU HAVE FOR MAKING YOUR COMPUTER MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT

Luke · **Joined:** Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:21 pm **Posts:** 1

Hi All

If you're new to Mac computers, click on the power icon on the top right of your screen and select 'Better Energy Savings', or 'Open Energy Saver' if you want to go one better.

Luke

David · **Joined:** Tue Jul 17, 2007 5:13 pm **Posts:** 135

Thanks for the tip Luke!

Ross · **Posted:** Tue Apr 15, 2008 1:49 pm

When it comes time for your organisation to upgrade or replace their computer network consider a thin-client network.

Thin-client devices generally consume only between 1/5th and 1/12th of the energy of their PC counterparts. And while the requirement for an increased number of central servers may offset part of these energy savings, organizations with remote offices can often eliminate servers in those offices entirely.

Thin-client devices often have no hard drives, no fans, and only small processing power, meaning they are much smaller and need less materials to manufacture (costing less as well). When replaced this means less waste, bulk and transport.

Energy efficiency for Business
ross@aboutcarbon.com.au

Ross · **Posted:** Tue Apr 15, 2008 1:51 pm

5 Energy Efficiency Tips rom Michael Dell of Dell Computers;

Energy efficiency for Business ross@aboutcarbon.com.au

David · **Joined:** Tue Jul 17, 2007 5:13 pm **Posts:** 135

I'd never heard of that before Ross thank you!

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_client

It looks like it would be well worth some investigating.

Ross · **Posted:** Tue Apr 15, 2008 1:52 pm

Recycling your old PC's means recovering some of the energy and other resources used in their manufacture.

Recycle your computer at Byte Back www.bytebackaustralia.com.au or www.cleanup.org.au

David · **Joined:** Tue Jul 17, 2007 5:13 pm **Posts:** 135

Ross wrote:

Supply chain or procurement partners should be held to the same green standards as your company[/list]

That is a very important point Ross. By simply electing to purchase your IT equipment from the greenest possible supplier (googling or using a website/service such as GECA - http://www.geca.org.au/ - or EcoBuy) you can significantly improve your own environmental credentials. And an added benefit is that it has the knock-on effect of encouraging the whole IT industry to improve their environmental performance!

And all it takes is a little research! :wink:

Ross · **Posted:** Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:07 pm

Some PC's will allow you to set power savings at the BIOS level.

To access BIOS power settings boot your PC and press the 'Del' or 'Delete' key when you see the black screen that has a message about pressing 'Del' to get into the BIOS. Once you see the BIOS or CMOS setup screen go to the power settings if there is an option.

There are several settings and only someone who knows what they are doing should proceed to change any. Adjusting the hard drive off settings here will switch the drives off regardless of the windows settings.
Changing the hard drive power off settings can sometimes interfere with programs that may want to access the hard drive while you are absent from the PC such as a backup that takes a long time. If you are not confident about changing the BIOS settings then ask someone who is. It's possible to really mess up your computer by changing some of the other BIOS settings.

Ross · **Posted:** Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:17 pm

It may not make your computer any more efficient but while we are on the subject of computers how about running a Climate Prediction Model?

Running a climate model in the background on your computer doesn't slow it down and will help the Hadley Institute of Britain to model different Climate Change scenarios. You will need a modern computer that is on for at least four hours a day and a cable/ADSL internet connection. Climateprediction.net is the largest experiment to try and produce a forecast of the climate in the 21st century. Run a climate model on your PC by going to http://climateprediction.net/

I've completed two climate models (they take about a year each) and didn't notice the slightest difference in speed when using the PC. Luke may be interested to know they also run on Mac's.

You can even watch the model as it progresses which can be interesting in a geeky kind of way.
Energy efficiency for Business ross@aboutcarbon.com.au

mmerkus · **Posted:** Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:39 am

Computer equipment is one of the fastest growing electric loads in the world. Unfortunately, a large part of the energy used by computers is wasted. This is because PCs are often kept on in full power mode when they arenâ€™t being used. Studies show on average PCâ€™s are actively used barely half of the time during the day. A significant proportion of computers in are left on overnight.

To help manage the power settings of your home PC you can download some free software from www.pcenergysaver.com also for businesses there is a product call Surveyor which manages the power setting of a company's PC network. Info available at www.greeninnovation.com.au
Regards,

Marcel

Bob · **Posted:** Fri Apr 18, 2008 4:21 pm

http://www.localcooling.com/

Bob · **Posted:** Mon Aug 04, 2008 12:51 pm

I came across this site on my superhighway travels:

http://www.epeat.net/

Quote:

EPEAT is a system to help purchasers in the public and private sectors evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on their environmental attributes. EPEAT also provides a clear and consistent set of performance criteria for the design of products, and provides an opportunity for manufacturers to secure market recognition for efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its products.

Looks good.

Grow Me The Money Business Sustainability Forum

HOW DO YOU: make your computer energy efficient?

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