If you have a newer PC, it's likely got some excellent power saving capabilities built in to it - but if you're anything like the bulk of the computer user population, you're probably not using those options as efficiently as you could be.
This tip can actually save you money!
Go to the Start button -> Control Panel and find the "Power" option. The name will be slightly different depending on the version of Windows you're running. Once in there, examine all of the options available. You can pick either pre-designed power usage plans or you can customise your own.
Until recently, I never put my PC into stand-by. It was running at full power around the clock. I feel a bit stupid about that now as I realise there's no point in my PC using all that power when I'm not actually sat in front of it. Now, my screens turn off after 5 minutes, my hard drives after 15 minutes and the PC goes into stand-by after 30 minutes. It only takes about 15 seconds for the machine to resume when I need to use it.
As you can probably imagine, there are quite a few PCs at the Jordan House... I'm now in the process of converting all of them to use power more efficiently.
Apart from saving me money - it will also reduce the carbon footprint - and that's good for everyone.
See http://www.daysofchange.org.au for more sustainable energy use ideas.
