How much power is your computer using?

Andyh7

Most of us need a computer these days to merely function. However, how many of us have stopped to think about the power our computer is using?

I have become fascinated with the concept of green IT. At home, we have upgraded all our PCs with special hard drives that stop spinning when they are not needed. We now turn our PCs off every night as opposed to putting them on standby. I would urge all PC users to find out more. Both Novatech.com and Dabs.com sell a range of green hard drives which will cut your power consumption at home.

As a business owner, I want to make sure that my company’s IT infrastructure uses as little power as possible too. I have just signed up to a free half day event in Kent to learn more about the business specific technologies involved. See ADA.co.uk/Green-IT-Campaign for more detail. Other events are planned for Birmingham, London and Brighton.

Our new network and backup solution will have a minimal impact on the environment. Server/desktop virtualisation solutions will negate the need for traditional PCs. We aim to use Thin Client devices which contain no moving parts. The power saving potential should be significant.

Whatever you view on the cause of global warming, it is happening whether we like it or not. I have seen the melting ice packs near the North Pole with my own eyes. Hopefully these new green IT technologies will enable us all to save money and to reduce our carbon footprint at the same time.

Every little helps…

cliffski

Here are my results from measuring computer usage using a kill-a-watt watt meter on my own system:
http://positech.co.uk/cliffsblog/?p=21

Cardew

cliffski wrote: »

Here are my results from measuring computer usage using a kill-a-watt watt meter on my own system:
http://positech.co.uk/cliffsblog/?p=21

You can get exactly the same device for about £7 from aldi/lidl.

i think your results are pretty typical.

Andyh7

Thanks for the tips Gents, this is reall interesting...

thescouselander

If you are an Apple Laptop owner you can see your power consumption for free by looking at the power section in system profiler. My Macbook is currently using just 15W while surfing the net which is pretty good and much better than a desktop would get.

If you want to save power on computing then get a laptop.

jamesb1239

Oh well, I think were single handedly destroying the planet a desktop, laptop and printer have been switched on for the last 3 years, well other than power cuts and re-boots for updates etc

Cardew

thescouselander wrote: »

If you want to save power on computing then get a laptop.

On the other hand!

If you want a powerful computer, for a lower price, get a desktop.

On the other hand if a penny an hour for electricity(which also warms the house) is a show stopper, get rid of your PC, walk to the library and use their PCs;)

thescouselander

Cardew wrote: »

On the other hand!

If you want a powerful computer, for a lower price, get a desktop.

On the other hand if a penny an hour for electricity(which also warms the house) is a show stopper, get rid of your PC, walk to the library and use their PCs;)

Yes, indeed. Or just use a pen and paper.

anjak-j

I mainly use my laptop, which saves on power, only turning on my desktop when I need more powerful processing, or when I want to use it for media purposes. I rarely ever leave either running overnight, when out of the house, etc. The only peripheral that is plugged in constantly is my router, since I'm a part of the Fon network.

I don't really worry about the power consumption too much since I don't own a separate television, a DVD player or any of the other stuff that is plugged into one, nor do I own a music system - I use my PC for most of my entertainment needs. I've even got my Wii set up so it can run through my PC or laptop.