Computers are now a part of our daily lives and most of us spend almost the whole day staring at the computer screen. No doubt that the computer sucks in a lot of energy as it runs on electricity and yes a lot of paper when you are printing stuff all the time.
When we are striving to choose greener options in our daily routines it makes a lot of sense to make green choices regarding our computers and laptops too.
People who use them for considerable number of hours can save a lot of energy by making some simple choices.
When buying a new computer, look for models that consume less electricity so that you save energy from the start. Old computers need not find themselves in the dump, instead they can be recycled or less fortunate people can benefit from having one at cheaper cost. Look for peripherals that consume less energy too.
Avoid printing something unless absolutely necessary. Use recycled paper and when possible reuse the unused side of used printing paper. Instead of memos and reports that do the round from one desk to another in the office, emails and pdf files with scanned signatures can replace them to save paper. Aardvark and GreenPrint are software that can help you with this when printing from the browser.
Refill the empty printer ink cartridges and wherever possible opt for vegetable ink for refilling. You are not only preventing more dumping in the landfills but also protecting the environment by choosing greener options.
When running the computer, look for software that can help you save energy and also printing paper. Every time you leave the computer and go for a coffee or to the bathroom you could put the computer to sleep or even hibernate. A hibernating computer uses lesser energy than a sleeping one. WinOff is a software that can help you manage this.
Don’t leave the computer running even when you are out of the office or home. If you need to access it from outside the use of Wake-on-LAN software can help you out. You can access the computer even if it is switched off. Lower the brightness off your screen. It will consume less energy.
Switch off peripherals that are not being used as they suck unnecessary energy. Look for peripherals that are energy vampires because they use energy even when switched off. Such peripherals should be unplugged. These are primarily the ones with AC adapters.
You may also use gadgets like Energy saving Smart Strip to help you achieve your goal.
