According to the U.S. Department of Energy, appliances and electronics account for about 20 percent of an average home's electricity bills. Leaving home-office equipment (computers, monitors, and peripherals) turned on when it's not being used wastes energy. For computers and monitors, a screen saver does not reduce power consumption. Turning off this equipment when it's not in use is a good practice but is not always practical. Configuring power-management features - low-power or "sleep" mode that begins after a specified period of inactivity - saves some energy.
Energy Star-qualified computer equipment uses less electricity than standard equipment even without the use of power management. However, using power management ensures that you are saving the full amount of energy that Energy Star-qualified equipment was designed to save. These features do not affect performance or connectivity and are often set by default, but you can benefit even more by lowering the inactivity time - from 60 minutes to 15, for example. (The Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] recommends setting the inactivity time to 15–60 minutes for computers.) If your equipment is not Energy Star-qualified, you can still save money by using power management. A household can save $25-$75 a year by using it on one computer, according to Energy Star.
Power management also helps computer equipment last longer. This, combined with lower electricity consumption, reduces environmental impact.
1. Consult the manual for your devices to learn about available power-management features and considerations for using them.
2. For computers running Windows XP or Windows Vista, go to Power Options in Control Panel. Alternatively, you can use power management software, like Verdiem's Edison (Windows XP or Windows Vista) or the Energy Star's EZ Wizard (Windows 2000 or Windows XP). For Macintosh computers, go to Energy Saver in System Preferences.
3. Configure the inactivity settings.
4. Use the equipment normally and adjust the settings as needed.
Consider using a power strip to completely cut power to home office equipment when you are not using it. You can save even more energy - "phantom" energy, as it is often called.
Choose Energy Star-qualified electronics. They must meet EPA requirements for energy efficiency, including wattage consumed while in sleep mode.