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Step 2In the study / computer room
Free:
Firstly, in my computer area we have 12 cords plugged in which operate peripherals and others like the printer, scanner, speakers, mouse charger and our external harddrive. These are nearly never in use so when not in use its best to unplug them because standby power can account for 10% of the average power bill. If you want to see how much energy this uses up try this List. You could also buy a thing called the kill a watt Link. and monitor your usage.
Computer standby mode and monitor standby mode are another great way of saving power. Set up your computer screen to go into standby mode by right clicking on the desktop and clicking properties. Now click the Screen Saver tab and then the power button. You can then set the screen to go into standby mode after a certain amount of time. There is also a standby mode where the computer keeps every program saved to the disk and turns everything onto an extremely low power usage, until you move the mouse where it goes back to exactly how it was. This is great if you don't or can't turn off your computer.
Some other things you can do:
1. Recycle or refill toner or ink cartridges
2. Reuse floppy discs to make something like a bird feeder or bag. If you want to make a bird feeder post a comment and I'll work on an instructable. There are other great things similar to this in the go green contest already though, so check them out.
Pays for itself
Buying recycled paper or plantation paper is a great way of saving natural forests.
Costs money
This will cost quite a bit upfront but if you are a frequent computer user it should pay for itself over time. If you have a CFC monitor( A big glass fronted one) you could think of investing in an energy efficient LCD monitor because an LCD panel monitor generates around half as much greenhouse gas as a conventional monitor and adjusting its brightness lower can cut emissions to a quarter. It also gives a clearer picture :)
What we have done this step:
We have saved energy and trees and stopped old toner cartridges going into landfill.
Firstly, in my computer area we have 12 cords plugged in which operate peripherals and others like the printer, scanner, speakers, mouse charger and our external harddrive. These are nearly never in use so when not in use its best to unplug them because standby power can account for 10% of the average power bill. If you want to see how much energy this uses up try this List. You could also buy a thing called the kill a watt Link. and monitor your usage.
Computer standby mode and monitor standby mode are another great way of saving power. Set up your computer screen to go into standby mode by right clicking on the desktop and clicking properties. Now click the Screen Saver tab and then the power button. You can then set the screen to go into standby mode after a certain amount of time. There is also a standby mode where the computer keeps every program saved to the disk and turns everything onto an extremely low power usage, until you move the mouse where it goes back to exactly how it was. This is great if you don't or can't turn off your computer.
Some other things you can do:
1. Recycle or refill toner or ink cartridges
2. Reuse floppy discs to make something like a bird feeder or bag. If you want to make a bird feeder post a comment and I'll work on an instructable. There are other great things similar to this in the go green contest already though, so check them out.
Pays for itself
Buying recycled paper or plantation paper is a great way of saving natural forests.
Costs money
This will cost quite a bit upfront but if you are a frequent computer user it should pay for itself over time. If you have a CFC monitor( A big glass fronted one) you could think of investing in an energy efficient LCD monitor because an LCD panel monitor generates around half as much greenhouse gas as a conventional monitor and adjusting its brightness lower can cut emissions to a quarter. It also gives a clearer picture :)
What we have done this step:
We have saved energy and trees and stopped old toner cartridges going into landfill.
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Jan 30, 2011. 9:59 AMElSergio
says:
Also if you happen to keep fish tanks, when you do your water changes, you can use the water you take out to water your plants. Conviently the things in the water that make it not ok for fish, are GREAT for plant growth.
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Apr 23, 2009. 9:41 AMdkowis
says:
That's a CRT monitor not a CFC monitor. I think...
Reply
Oct 13, 2009. 5:51 PMtheforester
says:
That is correct, CRT monitors are the "boxier" models that weigh a lot more. It stands for Cathode Ray Tube. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitors are the "flat panel" monitors that are becoming the norm now. LCD monitors can have different light sources in them, the standard is a CCFT (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Tube) which is basically a more beefy version of a tubular fluorescent lamp. These do a good job, but they do burn out eventually. Many manufactureres are beginning to switch over to LED (Light Emitting Diode) lamps in their LCD monitors and TVs. These use even less energy, emit pretty much no heat, and last for a VERY long time. They are also shockproof. If you can purchase a monitor that uses LEDs as it's light source you would probably save quite a bit of money over its lifespan!
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Oct 14, 2009. 7:12 AMdkowis
says:
I have a laptop that uses LEDs, and it makes a significantdifference in the power consumption, evidenced by much longer batterylife :)
Reply
Mar 26, 2009. 7:59 AMwithnall
says:
Alternatively,if you are lazy about plugging them in and unplugging etc just run them all through a powerboard(double bonus if you use a surge protected one you are ensuring against damage).Make sure its a board with an on/off switch and just switch it to off when you turn your computer off!
Reply
Sep 10, 2008. 9:53 PMmilhouse2k
says:
I leave my computer on to perfrom protein folding to improve cancer and other disease research
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