What are the steps to minimize the desktop power consumption?

Question

Where ever I’m reading about environment and climate change

I mostly found the big-big reports,charts and studies.

But can somebody help me to simplify this by creating some basic guidelines to follow in our day to day life and help to conserve our mother nature from the ground level?

Answer 1

Do you mean desktop  - as in PC power consumption ?

Well, if you are considering purchase of a new PC, there are some being made with very low power consumption.

Failing that, Ditch your power hungry monitor - and go for an LCD model. Only 20W - compared to 150W of a CRT.

Change your power settings set- up on your PC.

Go to Start menu - Control panel , Performance and maintenance , Power settings.

There you can tell your PC to go into a screensaver after 2 minutes of non-use. - Set your screensaver to be a black screen - or something very minimal.  You can also set it to turn-off the screen after 5 minutes of non-use. This will still automatically start back up as soon as you move a mouse.

If you feel loke modding your PC - Add a fan speed controller. This senses when your PC needs cooling - and turns the fan on only if it's needed. - Seems sensible doesn't it ?

If you have a wireless router network - this is constantly sending out  the equivalent of a constant mobile phone call - all the time. As it is in the microwave region - this is not only wasteful - it's also a health hazard!  - Look up how to turn it off when you don't need it - lots of help online for this - just google it.

I've got a wooden workstation, and I've mounted a standard 1gang switched socket on the left behind te monitor. This is supplied by a 13A lead to the inaccesable wall socket in the wall. I plugged my Mains surge protector into this for all computer and peripheral power.

When I'm done with the PC I just turn this mainswitch off and it isolates the lot. - A lot easier than grovelling around behind everything.

I've found if you make access easier to switches - people use them.

For TV - video etc - use an eco-adaptor. This senses when the TV is off - and switches everything else off too - no more stand-by's.

For a few pounds you can get a device that tells you how much current your devices use. You set your electricity costs - and can see how much it's costing you!  Maybe you'll decide to change those expencive items.

Answer 2

Buy only energy star rated appliances, keep them free of dust and otherwise clean, use them little. Don't leave them plugged in if avoidable.

Choose low wattage over high wattage, but be sure that the period used does not increase inversely. That is, a heating appliance with a lower wattage may give you no savings in current because it used less power for proportionally longer time.

Keep flicking those lights off when not needed. Don't use an electric water heater to keep water heated all the time, ready for use. A gas on demand heater is relatively efficient.

Unfortunately, there are so many decisions to be made that even listing all the best practices for everything becomes confusing. Best to get best practices from basic principles or get them for the particular situation.

Answer 3

A simple way to cut power consumption is to turn off electronic devices when you're not using them. Most of them use electricity when they're in a stand-by mode, and even when turned off.

I shut off the power surge protector I have since that is a transformer and uses power when it's not turned off.

Same with the combo printer/ scanner/ fax machine.

Yeah, that came as a surprise to me too....

I also unplugged the tv and the antique vcr-- probably forever now. :-)