Set your computer's power management settings for maximum savings.
Why You Should Do It
If you think that your whole computer goes to sleep when your monitor does, think again. While most monitors are set to sleep after 15 minutes, the rest of your computer and hard drive keeps using energy - and wasting money! A recent study by the Energy Center of Wisconsin found that properly setting your computer's power management settings is the single highest opportunity to reduce plug load management.
What It Costs
Free!
How to Do It
1. Visit Climate Savers Computing and look up their handy guides to power management settings for your computer's operating system:
2. Don't forget to
Flip the Switch: shut your computer completely down and unplug it or turn off its power strip at night to stop phantom load.