Simple Ways To Go Green

How many hours in a day do you spend using your PC? 2? 4? 8? 12? How often do you leave your PC switched on for, even when you are not sitting in front of it?

PCs especially high performance desktop PCs can use a lot of electricity. They use a lot more when you start adding extra devices like webcams, scanners and printers. Newer PCs tend to be more energy efficient, but you don’t need to spend lots of money on a new PC just to save a few pounds of your electricity bill. There are a few things that you can do that will not cost any money just a few moments of your time….

1. Let it go to ‘sleep’ – Screensavers do not save energy when your computer is not being used. Instead go to control panel and select power options. Here you can set the amount of time for when your monitor or entire PC will shut down if it’s not being used. A good amount of time is around 10-15 mins. This will save a lot more energy than a flag bouncing around the screen.  To find the control panel just click on the start menu and it should be on the right menu. But if you know you are going to be away from the computer for some time, just turn it off.

2. Let you PC breathe. If your computer does not have room around it to let air flow freely then it can be getting very hot and to compensate for the additional heat the fan will need to run more often and for longer periods of time. To help keep your computer cool make sure air can flow freely and this will help lower your energy bill and your computer will last a little longer too.

3. Turn things off. If you are not using something turn it off. Too often our scanners, printers and other devices are left on for hours if not days and this can use a lot of energy. It’s not hard to press the power button or unplug it from the wall.

4. Really turn things off. Many devices have a standby mode which still uses electricity even when you think they are turned off. Standby mode may make devices respond quicker when needed but use a lot of electricity whilst they are waiting. If you are only using the device occasionally unplug it from the wall and save yourself some energy.

5. Run anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. You may think that you are safe but these evil little programs have a tendency to install themselves on your computer when you are not looking. The worst of these will make your computer do a lot of tasks like sending emails or loading popups. This will lead to more energy being used for hours. Put a stop to them and save some money and also make your computer run a bit faster.

…. And finally

Buy an Intelliplug!

These plugs will help save energy and help the environment. Instead of turning the computer off and then having to climb under desks to unplug everything, Inteliplugs will turn everything off for you. No more standby and no more wasted power.

For more information about being eco-friendly or to purchase eco-friendly products visit at www.wikaniko.com/1005199

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