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Should I turn computer off at night?

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Hi

Just wondering... I use my computer for most of the day so it is on all the time during the day, but am unsure as to whether or not I should be turning it off at night. Think I once read that it uses so much power turning the computer back on that you're just as well to keep it on at all times.

Any advice please?
«1

Comments

  • rogerramjet
    rogerramjet Posts: 1,388 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Its personal preference, I turn mine off, but I know others who leaved them on all the time
    Welcome, rogerramjet.
    You last visited: 01-01-1970 at 01:00 AM
  • albertross_2
    albertross_2 Posts: 8,932 Forumite
    yes (after shutting it down properly). the advice is wrong
    Ever get the feeling you are wasting your time? :rolleyes:
  • greyster
    greyster Posts: 2,392 Forumite
    I doubt turning a PC on uses as much energy as leaving your PC on while your sleeping, so I would be inclined to turn it off.

    Electricial equipment is a potential fire hazard too. Why run the risk unnecessarily.

    Of course, many people do leave their PCs on but for a reason such as downloading 24/7.
  • sicker
    sicker Posts: 1,370 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I used to leave mine on 24/7, it didn't half keep my room warm. I now close it down correctly when not in use. To my mind it's a personal choice.

    John
  • cwoodham
    cwoodham Posts: 432 Forumite
    There was a good discussion of this on this forum back in January

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=139754
  • sra
    sra Posts: 4,676 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker Photogenic
    I've seen this discussed a million times over the years and no-one ever agrees. There are benefits of keeping it on and benefits of turning it off.

    Don't think you'll ever get people to agree on this
  • Little_John
    Little_John Posts: 4,033 Forumite
    I leave my Pc's and server on 24/7, three people use the main system downstairs through the day from 6 am till about midnight so it is left on. the noise with beeps and sounds starting it up at 6am would wake everyone up.

    There is the thing of the initial power hitting the pc when you switch it on causes failures and when you think about it light bulbs rarely fail once they are on same with TV's so it is beliveable I have seen so many power supplies blow when they are switched on.

    Switching them off saves power and people go on about the risk of fire, if you keep your pc clean inside this shouldnt be a problem.

    it is personal choice there are good reasons for doing both.
  • I remember someone discussing this on another forum a year ago and found this post that is quite interesting:

    I found this on a forum and thought is was quite interesting:

    I have an energy meter and tested this out -

    Computer is Athlon 2100XP with a 300 Watt PSU.

    On average the power consumption was 200W per hour without the monitor switched on, 300 W per hour with the monitor on.

    Over 24 hours thats about 7.2 Kwh, my electric costs something in the region of 9p per kwh so thats a cost of about 65p.

    Over a month that would be £19.50 onto you electric bill,
    £58.50 a quarter and £234 a year
    If you're feeling down, you must be holding a duck.
  • wolfman
    wolfman Posts: 3,225 Forumite
    Turn it off. Leaving it on only does the following:

    1) Shortens the life of fans, hard drives, and due to the constant heat probably quite a few other parts.

    2) Attracts more dust, generally not a healthy thing.

    3) Costs a lot more to run.

    4) Given recent environmental issues it's just uneccessary power usage.


    I used to leave a server on myself, but it did add quite a lot to the electricity bill, and running a server in a home environment is a little extreme. Most people don't need one, or there are better alternatives, it's just being greedy.

    With regards to surges when you turn the computer on, with todays components it's very rare, and the cost of leaving it on constantly probably outways any replacements should a very rare power surge occur.
    "Boonowa tweepi, ha, ha."
  • DanW_3
    DanW_3 Posts: 95 Forumite
    If you're leave it on over night is it going to be used for anything? I left mine on last night to do some cancer research only to wake up at about 6 to notice it hadn't uploaded the result so it might have been sitting there for 2/3hours doing nothing, which IMHO is a waste of money. At least if your downloading or doing some computing then it might out weigh the cost.
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