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Is it better to turn off your computer when you’re not using it, or leave it on all the time?

Is it better to turn off your computer when you’re not using it, or leave it on all the time? It depends on how you use your computer. There are at least two situations that force you to leave your computer on 24 hours a day:

  • You are on a network, and the network administrators back up files and/or upgrade software over the network at night. If that's the case, and you want your machine backed up or upgraded, then you need to leave it on all the time.
  • You are using your machine as some sort of server, and it needs to be on 24 hours a day. If your machine acts as a file server, print server, Web server, etc., on a LAN (local area network) or the Internet, then you need to leave it on all the time.

If neither applies, you have a choice whether or not to turn the power off. One reason to unplug is economic. A typical PC consumes approximately 300 watts. That's about 60 cents per day (based on an hourly rate of 10 cents per kilowatt). Added up, that comes to about $219 per year. Even if you have your computer go into a powered-down standby mode, you're still wasting about $100 per year.

You might want to invest in a smart strip if you do decide to turn off your computer. Smart strips can sense when your computer is powered down and can turn off peripherals, such as monitors or printers, plugged into it. Doing this will save even more money as there will be no idle draw from these devices.

References

Adapted from www.HowStuffWorks.com

October 2015