try googling. Turning on your computers DOES NOT consume a lot of power. Even if it consumed 20 times as much power as usual during startup, and startup takes 1 minute, you will save energy by turning it off for 20 minutes. But of course, it doesn't. So turn it off, or put it in sleep. The old CRTs are probably the biggest users, so if i usually turn my monitor off if i'm leaving for a while.
http://www.tdc.ca/savingelectricity.htm
http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/questions.html
Quote:
from the hp website http://www.homeandoffice.hp.com/hho/...0-225-121.html
computers and other office equipment
Electricity use for office equipment is growing faster than any other category of electricity use in the commercial buildings sector. This category includes computers, monitors, printers, fax machines, and copiers. Energy use by office equipment is expected to grow by as much as 500 percent in the next decade.
Computers at home also waste a lot, but you can take measures to minimize this. First, understand that screen savers do not save electricity in computer monitors; they are meant to prevent phosphor "burn-in" on the screen. If you leave your computer and other office equipment on all the time, you are likely spending well over $100 per year on electricity!
The best way to reduce your computer and monitor's energy consumption is to turn it off when not in use. If your computer has a 'sleep' mode, make sure that this feature is enabled. With sleep mode active, the computer will automatically convert to a low-energy mode when not in use, cutting energy usage to less than half. Knowing this you may want to shorten the delay time before your monitor automatically goes into sleep mode.
Other energy saving ideas include smart power strips that sense your presence or absence and turn the attached equipment on and off accordingly. To protect your computer during a power curtailment, invest in Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS), which combine surge protectors and battery packs. These will run a computer for a short time and prevent the loss of information when the power goes out.
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