Home PC

Your Home PC

by Steve Auger

Did you know that the top three energy consuming gadgets in a typical home are  (in order):  Playstation 3, plasma TV and PC?  This post focuses on the number three offender:  your home PC.

The first energy-saving idea is to switch from using a desk-top PC to a portable.  Portable PCs typically use 1/4 the power.  Note that when using a portable PC you should switch off the monitor and Wi-Fi when not in use.  (Portable PCs that meet Energy Star 4 spec's require this action to meet the quoted power efficiency.)

If you do not have a portable PC at home then, depending on your occupation, you may be able to bring one home from work.  If you don't have access to a portable don't sweat it - here are some desk-top PC energy-saving ideas:

• Optimize window's (or BIOS) sleep and power down settings.  Don't optimize to the point that the settings are an annoyance.
• Disable programs not being used from system startup;
• Power the PC, monitor and peripherals from one power bar.  Turn off the power bar when the PC is not in use;
• Switch from an old CRT monitor to an LCD monitor
• Throw out the high end video graphics card (save 200W typical).   When your kids complain tell them to get a life.
• Optimize the amount of system RAM.  Too much requires more power.  Too little results in the hard drive being over-utilized.
• Defragment the hard drive regularly.