Ah, the age old question about our computers. Since computers came into the home, users have asked; 'should I turn it off or leave it on?' I'm going to try and not muddy the waters any more than they already are in this short article. I will share some facts and some opinions in this article that will help you make the decision for yourself.
First, let me say that there is no definitive answer on this subject and if you ask twenty computer people whether to leave your computer on over night, you will probably get 50% on one side of the fence and 50% on the other side.
That being said, let me present the facts about computer energy consumption:
* Desktop computers burn approximately the same amount electricity as a single light bulb being left on
* Desktop CRT monitors (the TV looking ones) burn almost twice the amount of electricity as a light bulb
* Flat panel monitors burn only a fourth or less of regular CRT monitors
* Laptop computers burn about a third of the electricity that desktop computers with CRT monitors do
* When computers are left on, they suck in dust, pet dander, smoke and more through their fans
* Computers and computer software benefit greatly from being turned off completely
* Except for very large, constantly working laser printers, your speakers, scanners, printers and other peripherals burn very little electricity
* If you use your computer often throughout the day (three or more times), don't shut it off and on that many times. It is harder on a computer to use them like a radio or lamp and turn them off and on many times throughtout the day.
Those are the generally accepted facts, here are my opinions:
* If you aren't going to use your computer for a five hour or more period, shut it off.
* Because CRT monitors burn the most electricity of all our peripherals, shut it off when you walk away from your computer for more than an hour or use the settings in the Control Panel to shut the monitor off after a period of time
* Sleep mode saves electricity, but often causes problems for the computer when it 'wakes up'
Did I make the debate waters muddier? I hope not. If you have further questions or comments about this topic, call me on the show on any Saturday!
