Number 310 - March 2009

Power Efficient Computing
by Randy Edson, Victoria BC User Croup, December 2008
Now-a-days we are trying to save a few dollars. One way that some of us are doing this is by reducing our electric bill.    If you live in British Columbia, BC Hydro has been making sure that everyone is aware of some of the easy ways of saving energy. Some of the more popular ways are: changing your light bulbs to CFLs, your washer to a HE front load model, and exchanging your refrigerator to a more efficient Energy Star rated one.    Recently there has been a push to reduce power consumption by computers. Here are a few things that people can do to reduce power consumption by their computer:    1) Replace your CRT monitor (glass tube model) with an Energy Star rated LCD monitor, The average consumption of a 17" CRT is 76 watts compared to just 20 watts with a 17" LCD.    2) Use energy saving power modes within your computer. On Windows based computers these can be found in the Control Panel under 'Power Options'.    3) Turn off your printer until you plan to use it. Do you really need to turn it on every time you use your computer?    4) Use a smart power bar/strip. Smart power bars allow you to plug your PC into the main 'Control Outlet' and your associated peripherals - like monitor, printer, speakers - into the Atomatically Switched Outlets' or 'slave outlets'. Then, when you shut down your PC, the Smart Strip/Bar suspends the flow of juice to the 'switched outlets'. This eliminates power loss on equipment that has a suspend mode, or normally expends energy keeping a system off indicator lit.    5) Use '80+' rated power supplies in your computer. '80+' rating means the epower supply has been designed to convert AC power from the wall to DC power, that the computer uses at a 80% efficiency rate of better.    '80+' efficient power supplies directly save 85 kWh per desktop PC per year, compared to the average regular power supply.	There are four levels of '80+' ratings. There is the normal '80+' rating, denoted by a white square sticker with '80+' on the box that thje power supply came in, and there are '80+' bronze, silver, and gold levels.    Roughly said, the '80+' equals 80% efficiency, bronze is approximately 82%, silver is 85%, and gold is 87% or better. Of course, thes higher ratings come with a higher price tag.    a. Improved Power Quality - higher power factor reduces current draw by roughly 50%, which means that up to twice as many computers can be placed on the same circuit.    b. Increased System Reliability - reduced heat output increases computer system reliability by up to 40%.    c. Decreased System Maintenance Costs - Increased reliability reduces costly repairs and IT support.    d. Increased Comfort - Reduced heat output minimizes the need for noisy PC fans, making for a quieter and more productive environment.    If you're concerned about how much power each item you have in your house is drawing, you can purchase an Energy Meter that allows you to see how much power an item draws even when it is turned off. Energy Meters can be purchased locally (in British Columbia-ed) from Canadian Tire and Home Hardware.    One person I know went around his house using this device, and figured out that one fifth of his monthly power bill was due to appliances that have a standby mode, which still draws energy when not being used. Items such as cable TV boxes, stereos, clocks on the microwave, VCRs,and cordless telephones all draw energy, even when you're not using them.    Some items you can turn off by either unplugging them, or plugging them into a power bar that you can manually shut off. You could purchase a power bar that has a timer on it, that shuts everything off while you sleep at night, and turns them back on in the morning.    Hopefully, these tips will help reduce your energy usage, and save you money in the long run.
Number 310 - March 2009