I'm sometimes asked if it's better to leave a computer on all night or turn it off. Is the convenience of having it on all the time worth it, or should I be energy conscious. Which does less damage - leaving it on or turning it off every day.
First of all the argument that turning a computer on uses more energy then leaving it running over night has been proven false. According to the Department of Energy new computers do not use more power to start up then normal running conditions.
The article linked above goes on to suggest using the sleep function on your computer. This will cut energy use through the night and only takes a few seconds to wake up in the morning. Here are instructions to check your sleep settings -
For Mac users -
From the Apple menu choose System Preferences and then click on the Energy saver icon.
See this article for more info.
For Windows users -
Windows XP settings are here, while Windows Vista is here.
