News [Desktop computers]
PC Pro launches Switch IT Off campaign 1:46PM
The new issue of PC Pro launches a campaign to cut its readers' power bills - both in their homes and their businesses.
'Our tests show that individuals can save £250 per year while a medium-sized company could cut £5,000 from its annual bill,' said PC Pro editor, Tim Danton. 'And, unlike so many other green measures, you don't have to invest lots of money to reap the rewards.'
The campaign stems from PC Pro's investigations into the true cost of running a PC. Using state-of-the-art equipment, it discovered that a desktop PC alone could cost its owner up to £175 a year. But it also discovered that some minor changes could reap instant rewards.
'What many people don't realise is that computers can still consume lots of power when in standby mode,' said Tim Danton. 'We found that one minor adjustment to settings could cut bills in half with no loss of performance whatsoever.'
PC Pro also put monitors, printers and consumer electronics to the test. 'Our most striking discovery
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was that, if you replace a CRT with an LCD, then it could pay for itself within five years.'
PC Pro's Switch IT off campaign intends to raise the awareness of IT power consumption in the home and in the office, and also to make it easier for people to change their computing habits.
'We've teamed up with OneClickPower, so that more people take advantage of its six-socket power strip,' said Tim Danton. 'Just plug your PC into the master socket, then when you put your PC into standby or switch it off, the strip automatically cuts power to the peripherals plugged into any other socket. PC Pro subscribers can buy it for a reduced price too: £25 rather than £30.'
To encourage its readers to follow the power-cutting advice, PC Pro has also formed a partnership with two environmentally aware companies: Eizo and Fujitsu Siemens. Over the next few months, the two will be providing thousands of pounds in prizes, with any PC Pro readers who have taken power-saving measures entered into a monthly draw.
The new May issue (#127) of PC Pro goes on sale today.
FACTS & FIGURES
* The cost of powering an old CRT monitor for five years, £150, is now more than a 17in LCD monitor
* Using a screensaver is costing some PC owners £100 per year
* Switching off a single laser printer overnight and at weekends will save a business £70 during the printer's lifetime
* One settings tweak could save PC owners £75 per year
British computer magazine ''PC Pro'' has investigated the electricity costs of running today's computers.

Their investigations showed that an individual could save £250 a year while a medium-sized business could potentially save £5,000 a year by making changes to the way computers and their peripherals are operated.

A CRT monitor uses £150 of electricity over five years; enough to pay for a new low-power LCD monitor. Using a screen saver, rather than turning the monitor off or using many computers' built-in feature to turn monitors off after a period of inactivity, could cost £100 alone in a year.

It was also discovered that turning a single laser printer off overnight and on weekends would save £70 over the life of the printer.

Many others computer users however run 'distributed computing' projects while their computers are idle, such as the '@home' series of projects (including the well-known 'SETI@home').