Sustainable computing encompasses various eco-friendly practices aimed at reducing the environmental impact of computing activities. Although it sounds counterproductive, it is possible to go green with your computer, and you will not have to spend a lot of money on it either. With a few simple settings and steps, you can turn your energy-guzzling machine into one that will be efficient and will be more environmentally friendly.
Turn Your Monitor Off
One of the biggest culprits in ramping up the energy bill is your monitor. Even if you have an automatic turn-off feature set for it, the monitor will still consume a lot of energy. If you are done for the day, turn it off completely.
With the newer models, it will be easy to turn it back on and will take only mere seconds. Do not worry the LED and LCD screens will not have any problems with being frequently shut off.
Sleep vs. Hibernate vs. Shutting Off
At the end of the day, you have to decide what you will do with your computer. Turning it off might be the best solution, but, the next day it might take quite a while to load up everything you might need.
While sleep and hibernate offer more or less the same, saving your active documents and files to the memory and hard drive, sleep uses a bit more energy to keep your computer in a semi-awake state. Consider which option will hinder your work the least, to be able to continue where you left off without any issues.
Switch to Recycled Paper and Green Ink
Printing documents can eat up a lot of resources, and it can cost you a pretty penny as well. Then again, if you look into green printers, which consume less energy and ink, and use recycled paper and eco-friendly ink, you can make a difference. Be sure to lower printer usage as much as possible, because you can easily scan your signature and send it virtually, rather than having to print it and fax it over to clients.
Upgrade Your Computer
What is inside your computer will be a big factor in whether you can keep it green or not, and be sure to change components to green variants whenever you can. This way you will be able to save some money, and in the long run, your computer will not be a power-hungry machine.
Utilize new technology when you have an opportunity, as it will use less energy but will provide more quality. SSD hard drives are the best solution for swapping out old ones, which use up a lot of power and could get broken easily.
Do Not Just Throw Away Your Old Computer
If you are unsure what to do with your computer, be sure not to throw it away. The materials used to make computers will take an enormous period, and they might ooze dangerous chemicals into the environment. Make sure to safely dispose of them, or better yet, find a way to recycle old parts. This way, some of the old gear can be decomposed and repurposed, making it cheaper and easier to make new ones.
Going green with electrical units will take some imagination and effort but in the end, you can make it happen, without having to spend a lot of money. Simple solutions can go a long way, and you should utilize them as much as you can to help lower your computer’s power consumption. In the end, you will be able to drastically cut back on how much resources your computer uses, and in the meantime you can also improve its efficiency.
