How to Conserve Power Used by Electronics

By eHow Computers Editor

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Factors like lighting, heating and cooling determine power use in the home with large appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines constituting the bulk of home power use. However, if you are operating a large number of computer tools and other electronics these devices can actually provide some convenient ways to cut power usage. Conserve the most power by turning off electronics and peripherals when not in use.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step1

Purchase computers and computer peripherals that are EPA Energy Star compliant. EPA Energy Star is a series of qualifications for how much wattage computers use and automatic power-down and sleep options.

Step2

Activate the EPA Energy Star features. Features like automatic power-down and sleep settings for your computer may not automatically operate, so make sure that they are turned on.

Step3

Turn the brightness of your computer monitor down to a low setting. This will not only conserve power, it will also cause less fatigue for the eyes.

Step4

Set your monitor background, your screensaver and your Internet homepage to darker-colored images and web pages. Dark images require the monitor to produce less light and use less power. For web search, use the Blackle website rather than Google to reduce the power used while you search.

Step5

Turn your computer to standby or sleep when you are away for more than a few minutes. Do not set the computer to hibernate or turn off unless you will not be using it for eight hours or more. Powering the computer up and down repeatedly can consume more energy than leaving it on.

Step6

Shut off all peripheral electronics when not in use. Televisions, DVD players, gaming systems and other home electronics should be off until needed. Computer peripherals such as printers, scanners, speakers and even the computer monitor can all be kept off unless in use.

Step7

Route all electronics through a single energy-saving power strip. Some power adapters actually use and store energy even when devices are turned off, but plugging all your electronics into a single power strip can limit the amount of power being used.