Eco Button

Jenna_Appleseed

my cheap computer bought two years ago from Woolworths does this just by pressing the sleep button on the keyboard.

geordie_joe

OK, I have been doing some experiments with my leccy meter.

I have a number of USB "bits" attached to my computer, 2 x Hard Drives, DVD drive, router, KVM switch, USB hub, card reader, printer.

Part 1

Switched on, but with no programmes running the computer uses 185 Watts

Switched off, using the Mouse and Start button it uses 52 Watts.

In hibernation it uses 52 Watts.

Part 2

Months ago I got a free "Power Down socket from e-on. It is basically a "Socket doubler" that turns your peripherals off when you turn the computer off, or into hibernation. I have never used it as I normally switch the computer off at the mains, but I got it out this morning to try it.

Using this devices gives the following results.

Switched on, but with no programmes running the computer uses 185 Watts

Switched off, using the Mouse and Start button it uses 6.98 Watts.

In hibernation it uses 6.98 Watts.

Conclusion

The computer uses the same amount of electricity when switched off as it does when in hibernation. So don't waste your money on a device that claims to make your computer use the same low amount of electricity in hibernation mode as it does when switched off. It does that anyway!

I still say that you will save the most if you switch your computer off at the mains, but for those who can't, or don't want the inconvenience, then I recommend one of these power down devices if you have USB peripherals.

E-on sent mine for free, which was good of them considering I didn't ask for it and I have never been a customer. If you hunt round the power company sites you get one free.

If you do find a site giving them for free, please post the link in here for others.

geordie_joe

This is for XP, don't know if it will work with any other system.

For those who don't want to set the power button to put the computer into hibernation, but still want an easy way to do it, try this.

Create a text file on your desktop, call it Hibernation.bat. Insert the line below and save the file.

%windir%\System32\rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState

Now when you double click on the file it will do one of two things.

1. If you have hibernation enabled on your computer it will send it into hibernation.

2. If you don't have hibernation enabled, it will send the computer into standby mode.

Dustykitten

Could somebody tell me if standby (selected via the mouse) is the same as hibernation or sleep mode as detailed above. Thanks

greenbee

Dusty - standby uses more energy than hibernation, which is the lowest power mode. Your PC will take slightly longer to wake up from hibernation than it does from standby. Both modes are referred to as 'sleep'.

You can also optimise the different modes, so that they use less energy than the standard settings.

We are considering using Eco-buttons at work as part of an effort to change behaviours and raise awareness of energy efficiency. We believe that they will be particularly good for people who have locked their screens but want to hibernate their PC or laptop as they walk away from it to meetings/lunch etc. They also make it obviously which machines have and haven't been hibernated, and allow individuals to measure their energy savings. Sometimes its a case of things being useful in some situations and not in others - not everything is black & white.

There was quite a bit about this a couple of months ago on the techie board.

The best places to look for info on Eco-friendly computing are either EPEAT or the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics. Energy Star is only a very small part of it.

GeordieJoe has the right idea - switch off at the mains when not in use. I now have wall-mounted sockets along the back of my desk, and my electricty consumption has plummeted since I've been doing this. Router, laptop, monitor and printer are all now off at the mains when not needed.

RUFFYONEVILLA

I was about to spend 15 quid on one of these things but decided to look into it.

By the looks of things it will do the same as putting my system into standby mode by selecting that from the shutdown menu.
However I have found a "one-click" method of achieving the same thing:
In XP goto power management in the control panel and select advanced, them select standby when you press the power button. Simple, walk away for a break, press the main button, shutting down for the day, select shutdown and switch off at mains.

I am moving my office and am going to wire in some in line switches so that I dont have to goto/reach the power sockets to fully switch stuff on/off. Also a remote power switch for the printer looks a good idea, as reaching behind it to the power switch is a pain and hence it remains on!

savemoney

I think its meant to be a joke

santas-helper wrote: »

Sorry I don't understand I'm new to all this.

mtipps

The nice folks at Eco-Button allow you to download their software from their website and you can then install it on your computer without you having to buy their little button. Do that, quoting any old email address - it doesn't have to be real. Allow it to add a shortcut to your desktop. Then, go back to the desktop, right click on the icon, click Properties and remove the "/S" from the Target, and change the icon name from "EcoButton Setup" to "Ecobutton". Now, whenever you click that shortcut, it works just like the button - in fact, all the nice little button seems to do is to call up the program - just as you are doing. I've checked the Terms and Conditions for the software, and although I'm no expert, I can't see anything against using it like this - however I can't be held responsible for the consequences should you choose to do this. Of course, that nice little glowing button is really cute and good value for money so I don't want to discourage you from buying one.

chesterfield

If you have a work environment whereby peoples Application data folders are redirected, then this software throws up all sorts of errors due to it not being able to write to or read from your application data folder at the time of standby.

The software itself is quite a good idea and certainly something that will help reduce energy consumption. The button itself may be a gimmick, and for me, clicking the desktop icon would be enough. Though for others in the office the glowing button would probably do the trick.

Also something to be aware of, although hard drives today are more resistant to failure, the constant shutting down and spinning up of hard drives will shorten their lifespan. You would have to way up the pros of saving energy with the increased chance of a drive failure.

In a call centre type environment where the PC's are rebuilt from a standard image and can be up and running again within the hour then it may not be an issue. For more bespoke users PC's within a building where non standard software and configurations may be in use, you may want to err on the side of caution.