Does a computer use more electricity being on all day with a screen saver and power save?
Or does it use more electricity by turning it on and off every day? Its been a debate in our household as long as we’ve had one. Serious answers only and I thank you in advance. I’ll let you know who was right!
How could a system possibly use more power off than turned on, even on a low power scheme? Off, it is not using any power at all, so it is not running up the bill. However, while on, it is using power, and even a low power state will consume more energy than you would think. using a screen saver actually uses more energy than not using a screen saver. A screen saver, is not to save energy, but used instead to stop the screen from having images etched into it from constant exposure. This use to be a huge deal a while back when we used different monitors, but it is not an issue at all any longer with the new LCD monitors which are not etchable. So, while screen savers look cool, they actually run up the bill. A black screen is better at saving energy than using a screen saver.
Also, there is a debate on which is better, shutting down a system to save power consumption, or leaving it on and allowing it to enter a sleep state. Some say that turning a system on and of each day will wear down the parts quicker than leaving it on, but we go through computers why before we ever actually get to a place where we have had one so long it gets worn by the daily shutting off and turning on. Plus, we have the power consumption of leaving it one, which is a real concern and not some debulous ideal of wearing out parts.
So, the bottom line is whomever in your household who advocated for shutting the system off to save on the energy bill is the correct one. Plus, even those who leave there computers on all the time have to shut the system down at least once a week in order to reboot and readjust settings which are only readjustable via a reboot senquence.
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