Is it more energy efficient to leave your computer on all the time or to shut it off every day?

Question

Is it more energy efficient to leave your computer on all the time or to shut it off every day?

Answer 1

From an energy standpoint, yes your computer does draw more power while it is on whether you have the monitor on or off, than it does when it is turned off.  That doesn't mean that your computer isn't drawing power while it is off, because it does, just like a TV, DVD player, etc. However, there is a much easier way to have the best of both worlds - a fast start up and less energy consumption. Try the hibernate feature on your computer. You have to turn it on as an option in your Control Panel settings, but it works wonders. You can simply set your computer to Hibernate, and when it does the computer will appear to shut down, but in actuality will still be on, drawing slightly more power if you had turned it off, but considerably less power than had you left it on sleep or idle. When you press the power button to start back up, the computer will simply resume where you left off with whatever you were working on, without going through the time of actually booting back up. It really is the best of both worlds!

Answer 2

You should shut it off when not in use, there is no major energy loss in the start up function like there is when warming up a car or accelerating to cruising speed.

Answer 3

shut it of

Answer 4

It's not a rocket engine. Shut it off or hibernate/sleep it. Basically it's like leaving 5 lightbulbs on when you're not using them. Think about it: do all the other lights dim when you start up your computer? No. There is no significant start-up power draw. If there were, people would be blowing fuses each morning at the office.

Btw, cars only use about as much fuel to start up as they do to idle for a few seconds. So shut off your car, too.

AND, there is no need to leave the tap running while you brush your teeth. That's one of the stupidest habits around.