Getting Set UpGreen Computing

Turn it off! Like urban legends that never die, the PC world plays host to two persistent rumors about power use: One says that you use more energy turning your computer off at night and back on in the morning than if you had left it running continuously. The other contends that turning your PC on and off day after day, year after year overtaxes it.

Neither is true. The fact is, you use more energy if you keep your system on all night, and PCs were designed for thousands of on/off cycles (think about it - in the 27 years PCs have been around, how many times have you heard of a bad on/off switch?).

There's no reason to keep your PC - or any of your peripherals, for that matter - powered on unless you're sitting in front of them. If hitting three or four on/off switches every time you want to check your e-mail is more work than you're willing to do, even in the name of the environment, make it easy on yourself: Plug all your equipment into a power strip so you can turn the whole shebang on and off with one switch. (Also, you might want to use a strip with a built-in surge suppressor to protect against electricity spikes.)

Still too much work? Go the high-tech route with a "smart" power strip-it senses when you turn your computer on or off and does the same for your gadgets. Even better, the strip knows when your PC goes into sleep mode, and puts your peripherals there, too.

In Windows XP, you control both through Control Panel -> Performance -> Power Options; in Windows Vista, head for Control Panel -> System and Maintenance -> Power Options. You'll find various "power plans" to choose from. Experts recommend setting your PC and monitor to go to sleep after 10 minutes of inactivity.  (PCs from HP and a few others put a sleep/wake button right on your keyboard.)

If you use Mac OS X, go to System Preferences -> Energy Saver and adjust your sleep settings to 10 minutes. Then check the box labeled, "Put your hard drive to sleep whenever possible."

Remember that keeping everything up and running uses about as much energy as two 100-watt light bulbs. You don't want your power meter spinning like that 24/7 - the wasted energy could cost you more than $60 a year.

Kill your screen saver! Screen savers were designed to prevent static images from burning into the phosphors of tube monitors. Virtually every PC shipped in the last several years had an LCD monitor, so burn-in's no longer an issue. When you're away from your desk, put your monitor in sleep mode (or turn it off altogether), so it's not displaying a slide show of your cats to an empty room.

Don't print unless you have to! You think gas is expensive? Try printer ink! Do the math and you'll find that it costs more than $4,000 a gallon. So preview your documents on-screen before you print them. Print only the portions of documents you need. Print on both sides of the paper. Look for recycled printer paper. Bring your used toner cartridges to an office supply store that recycles them (or, better yet, that offers you a rebate or store credit for new ones).

Start shopping for a notebook! When you're ready to buy a new computer, consider replacing your desktop PC with a notebook - a typical notebook uses just one-fifth the energy of a desktop. If you're not comfortable with the smaller keyboard and display, or you don't like moving the cursor with your finger, you can always attach your favorite keyboard, monitor, and mouse so it feels more like a desktop. As an added bonus, you'll have a computer you can take wherever you go.

Developed for PC.com by O'Reilly Media's Missing Manuals division.