How to go Green with your PC and save Money

I’m going to be honest; I’m an environmentalist as long as it doesn’t cost me and I don’t think I’m alone.

I do believe it’s necessary to reduce consumption to save the environment, but like most people, I’m not going to take up the cause unless money is a serious issue.

Here are some very simple PC tips I use to save cash on my energy bill.

Use a Smart Power Strip - Smart Power Strips automatically shuts down the power to all your peripherals when you power down your PC. This will kill Phantom load from all the little electricity leeches on your desk that keep sucking power when your computer is shut down.

Bonus – Installing new smart strips will give you the excuse to clean up the wire mess. I know I did, it was a big hit with the wife since she’s allergic to clutter.

Remove discs from your CD/DVD/BD drive – Windows will spin up the disc unnecessarily and use a fair amount of power.

Bonus – You don’t have to accuse everyone else of not putting things back after they use it only to later eat your words.

Use Sleep Mode – I don’t like waiting for my PC to boot so unless I need to, I never shut it down. Using Sleep Mode gets me back up and running in a few seconds without the long boot up wait.

When you use Sleep Mode windows will save all open documents and programs and conserve power while you’re AFK. Windows will resume full-power operation in a few seconds when you return. Putting your computer into Sleep Mode is like pausing a movie; just hit start and the movie starts playing again.

Use power-saving options in Windows – This tip puts power saving on autopilot. Go to Start> Control Panel> Power Options> then switch to “Power Saver” and your done. Now your PC will automatically save you money! Click on “Change plan settings” if you really want to squeeze every last drop of power.

Kill a watt – Use a meter like the electric company and figure out what’s pulling all the juice. Doing this will let you find your target rather than guessing and replace it with a more power efficient device. You may discover why it didn’t come with an Energy Star label on the box when you bought it. You can find a really good one here and a really awesome one here.

Use a NAS or Network Drive – If you need “always on” access to resources like printers, music and movies use a Network drive or a NAS. These devices use considerably less power than running a PC 24/7.

You can buy a network router like this one that includes a USB port for sharing a USB drive or memory stick that any novice PC user can setup; check yours you may already have this. A NAS is a more robust option with a slew of great features; I recommend you consider getting one.

Use an 80 PLUS® Power Supply Unit – Most power supplies waste up to 30 to 40 percent of the energy they consume; that’s not peanuts. That’s 30 to 40 percent out of your pocket.

Using an 80 PLUS® PSU certifies it to be more than 80% energy efficienct. Unless you’re a PC gamer or run your rig 24/7 you’re not going to get your money’s worth replacing the power supply you already have. To keep things simple, just make sure on your next PC purchase to ask for a PSU that is 80 PLUS® certified.

Of course, I like those kinds of projects so I jump right in, it’s only 4 screws. You can find some really good deals on 80 PLUS® Power Supply Units here. Make sure to use at least the same size power supply you currently have installed in your PC. Leave me a comment if you need help taking on this project.

Turn-off the PC – Read a book. I recommend the Power of Less.

How have you made your PC Green? Have any questions or need help with any of the above? Leave me a comment.