Get green! Save a little money, save some energy


Want to save on electricity to save a little money and reduce your impact on the environment? You may not have an environment like a large IT shop, but that doesn't mean you can't save a little energy in your own world. It's possible by activating the Sleep or Standby features in Windows.

 

Standby or sleep mode is a power saving state. It basically turns off power-consuming components like the hard disks and monitor, at a specified time, which switches the computer to a low power state. While your computer sleeps, Windows saves all open documents and programs to memory. As long as your computer doesn't lose power, your work is safe. When you resume from Standby or Sleep, the system is restored to the same state it was prior to Standby or Sleep mode so all of the programs and documents that were left open before Standby occurred will be present.

 

By enabling the sleep or standby feature, your system will use less power when not in use, which in turn lowers your CO2 emissions.

 

For Windows XP:

1. Right-click the desktop, and then click Properties.

2. In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Screen Saver tab. Then, click the Power button.

3. In the Power Options Properties dialog box, click the Turn off monitor list, and select a time to automatically turn off your monitor.

4. Next, expand the System Standby option and select a time to put the machine on standby.

5. Click OK twice.

To manually put your PC on Standby, click the shutdown button and choose Standby.

 

For Vista:

1. Right-click the desktop, and then click Personalize.

2. In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Screen Saver settings link. Then, choose change Power settings.

3. In the Power Options section, click the choose when to turn off display link and then set the turn off display option.

4. Next, expand the put the computer to sleep list and select a time to put the machine in sleep mode.

5. Click save changes.

To manually put your PC to sleep, click the power button and choose Sleep.

 

To wake your PC, press the hardware power button.

 

Save a little money. Use a little less energy. Let your PC sleep while you do, or while you're playing somewhere else!