Do you keep your PC on 24/7 ?

[arsenic23]

I turn it off when I go to sleep or leave the house, unless I'm downloading something.

Although my new computer turns on and boots faster then my last one posted, so I may start turning it off more often.

[Paqman]

How much load (watts) does a PC consume ? My specs are on my sig.

Depends.

A desktop probably consumes around 75-150W constantly, a laptop about 25-40W and a netbook about 20W. If you want to do a proper power audit at home you can get a plug in power meter pretty cheap and find out what everything actually uses. It's a really interesting exercise, especially if you're a bit of a data geek.

Bottom line though, anything running when it's not being used is 100% wastage, so just have it sleep when it's not required. Most machines consume about the same whether they're asleep or turned off. Go to System Settings > Power to set the behaviour of your machine.

To try and get my computing power use down I've bought a KVM and actually use my netbook at my desk for anything that doesn't actually need the desktop on, and it all (desktop, speakers, monitor, etc) gets turned off at the wall when not in use. Just leaving it all plugged in but turned off was using about 130kWh a year, so that's an easy conservation win.

[Atitudes]

Used to restart when needed or once a week...Crisis...big bills...now it gets unplugged when I don't need it. Someday I'll give a try at a solar power computer eheh

[Grenage]

Hell no, it's a total waste of power; when a PC takes 6 seconds to hit the desktop (thank you SSDs), it's not an inconvenience to turn it on.

Our monthly electric bill is probably around £30 maximum.

[Lightstar]

I don't see the use of having it run 24 hours when I'm on it for 3 hours a day (or less).

I shut it down at night when I go sleep.
Turn it on in the morning to check my emails.
Turn it off again when I leave for work.

[kostkon]

Yes, on 24/7; and my electricity bill is ~£40.

[sffvba[e0rt]

On 24/7, but screen etc. goes on power saving...


404

[Paqman]

Someday I'll give a try at a solar power computer eheh

Actually pretty doable.

In-car PCs run off 12V (ie: battery voltage). A cheap panel, a battery charge controller, some deep cycle batteries and you're done. Could all be picked up second hand for tinkering. Probably unlikely to save any money due to the cost of the batts and wouldn't actually be that green, but it would be totally off-grid.

[Grenage]

Yup, it's the storage. Our panels kick out about 2.2kw on a good day, so it's all about holding it somewhere.

[ratcheer]

No. My PC is in a bedroom and it is better turned off at night. Also, saves electricity.

Tim