should i turn off my computer at night?

Question

i heard that it uses lots of energy/power and that is whats making my light bill super high... could that be true?

gracias!

Answer 1

yes shut down your system dont listen to others that say no otherwise ur most likely to introduce viruses,worms,trojans,hackers dont matter how strong the fire wall is always important to shut it off but really depends on how much power ur computer takes a basic home family PC would maybe take a 250-320Watt power supply unless yours is a super computer but eitgherway your computer still soaks up alot of energy

Answer 2

When your computer sleeps ("standby") the the computer uses 1-6 watts, while the monitor uses next to nothing. A screensaver that shows any image on the screen doesn't save any energy at all -- you save energy only if the monitor goes dark by going into standby mode. Of course, you can turn the monitor off at the switch too and then it uses 0 watts.

"The jury is out" on this one." Personally, I have my PC on most of the day, but turn the monitor off if I will be away for a couple of hours. I shutdown at night. Your choice.

Much more information at the link shown under "source."

I don't think it is your computer raising your electric bill. How many electric appliances are you running? Also, take note of unusual circumstances. This summer we got water in the basement and after cleaning up, ran a dehumidifier for a week. Our bill completely doubled.

Answer 3

In general computers use a limited amount of power. It is really better to leave it running with the monitor off at night. Every time you do a cold start you spike the system and that is also when it uses the most energy. You have an option in your system to goto standby mode when not in use. THis really saves energy and the system.

Answer 4

The "average" power consumption of a compuer with a CRT monitor (both on) is 325-375 watts. I doubt its making your electric bill "super high", but it does add up. Shut it off at night if you're not using it. Its better on the computer, anyway.

Answer 5

I would recommend shuting it down, maybe every other day give it a breather, it is possible that leaving it on is using power, but it's possible other things may be affecting that, Try turning it off every once in a while and then compare you light bill, That way you'll know for sure if it's your pc or not. Hope I helped

Answer 6

The power consumption is not much if u change the power settings where different components to sleep. U can certainly switch off the monitor which conumes most power. Switching off means that much additional waiting time and similar time when switching on next day. The cpu in any case looses so much value in depreciation that it hardly matters if u keep in on all the time.

Answer 7

I suggest that if you leave it running when not in use for long periods it's best to shut it down and let it "rest". However, if you are addicted and use it often, keep it on to avoid losing memory and getting glitches from too many shut downs as stuff happens. As for your electric bill, that is an urban legend. Most of today's electronics are very low on electric bills, especially home computers.

Answer 8

It doesn't use much power when left on. Most people at my company leave their machine on when they leave (just lock it). If there was an issue with energy consumption, they'd send out a memo weekly reminding to turn it off. There are some benefits with leaving it on because shut down/rebooting takes more toll on he hardware. Servers at companies are left on 24/7, but of course it needs to be due to obvious reasons.

Answer 9

Well, it's really up to you.
If you don't shut it off, you'll also have to realize
that the power source will most probably die in about
3, 4 years.
Depending where you live, your electric bill is
super high not because of the nights, but because
of the mornings. 9am-5pm electricity is very expensive.
Electricity at night is quite cheap.
In my case, I settle to pay for it, because for me
it's very convenient to access my home computer
from the office.

Answer 10

you should have any virus scanners or system checks run at night so they don't interfere or slow the system down during the day.

In terms of wattage, think of how much the power supply is rated for and think of what the monitor is rated for. I shut off the monitor and leave the server running. Same with the PCs..