Do you turn off the computer when you are done for the day?
Great if you replied yes but if you aren’t in the habit of shutting down the computer at the end of the work day, you aren’t just wasting money (through electricity bills) but the laziness on your part is making an impact on the environment as well. From a 2009 report:
If 100 users remembered to turn off their computers at the end of their work day, this could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by an amount equivalent to taking 2.14 cars off the road in a month.
If all of the PCs in the world are powered down for just one night, this alone would save enough energy to light up the Empire State Building for more than 30 years.
If the numbers ring a bell, you may want to try this desktop widget that quietly sits in the system tray and monitors your system usage like how frequently you turn off the computer and how long does the computer stay idle (powered on but unused) after working hours.
The widget then tries to estimate the amount of energy you may have saved by turning off the computer. It also includes a handy timer that will remind you to power off the computer one hour before the end of the work day.
Now the more interesting part. The widget also uploads your usage on a community website where everyone can see how frequently other widget users in different parts of the world are turning off their computer. It’s a social site so can you also see stats of your friends who too may have installed the widget.
The HP "Power to Change" widget in an Adobe AIR application so it should work just fine on Windows, Mac and Linux machines. The widget will not count time that a computer in standby or hibernate mode as idle time.
Another eco-friendly tip: Use Less Paper when Printing
Find this article at: http://www.labnol.org/software/shutdown-computer-widget/9161/
Tags: Archives, environment, shutdown, widgets, Software
Reader Comments
Why is it so hard for people to turn it off every night? It’s not like you’re using it 24/7.
The only reason I can think of is just booting it up, but does it really take that long to wait? You can keep yourself preoccupied by getting something you need, going to the restroom, or whatever.
It’s not that hard people.
Written by Quikboy on 06.23.09
A nice widget to try out…Yes PCs and energy efficiency & conservation form for a great topic of conservation :) I believe however that this need to keep our PCs on 24/7 stems not from laziness, but from a constant need ‘to be connected’ – if it is not the PC, it is a phone or smartphone or netbook and so on – being connected is the new normal…And it only adds to the problem
Written by Gunjan Rawal on 06.24.09
Gunjan – This quote is from the PC Enery Report for 2009 detailing reasons why employees leave PCs on all night or on weekends:
“Here are some reasons why you don’t always power down your PC when you have finished working for the day:
1. Other people use it
2. My computer automatically goes into hibernation or sleep mode
3. Takes too long to power up when I turn it on the next time I use it and it takes too long to power down when I shut down.
4. I forget.
5. To enable overnight software updates from the main server
6. It’s company or IT policy to leave it on
7. I access my PC remotely
Reason #3 & #4 are a bit related to laziness.
Written by Amit on 06.24.09