5 green myths, and some real advice

By Mark Lorne

These days everyone wants to take environmental action, but there are a lot of myths out there masquerading as facts. An oft-heard workplace “truism” is that it’s best to leave PCs on all the time, because constantly turning them on and off causes damage. That’s a myth, and we debunk it and four others below. 



And by challenging these old chestnuts we also offer genuine information on how you can use a little less electricity every day, and therefore make the world just that little bit better.



Myth #1: Use screensavers to save power. It would be nice if the “saver” part referred to energy savings: you could look at photos of mountain vistas or cute kittens and feel good about the habitats and animals you’re helping out. Sadly, screensavers were designed to extend the life of monochrome CRT monitors. No one uses those any more, and no one should use screensavers.



Screensavers can actually boost electricity use by preventing computers from entering energy-saving sleep modes. Plus, active monitors generate more heat, making air conditioners work harder. Get rid of your screensavers, no matter how cute the kittens are.



Myth #2: Devices that are turned off don’t use power. Many devices sip power even when they’re not really on. TVs, for example, are always watching for you to click the remote and so constantly draw some electricity. This standby power, also called vampire power or phantom load, is used by any device with a clock, timer or touchpad. And chargers draw power even when their phones or computers aren’t connected to them. According to Natural Resources Canada, standby power accounts for five to 10 per cent of all electricity used in Canadian homes.



At the office or home office, plug all your equipment (PCs, monitors, speakers, scanners and printers) into a power bar and flick the bar’s switch when you’re not working.



Myth #3: Switching off computers is bad for them. It’s a persistent myth that repeated on/off cycles damage computers. However, a study at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory concluded hard drives, for example, are not harmed by frequent shutdowns, and a sustainability paper from the University of British Columbia found computer components are actually harmed most by the heat stress created when a PC is on. The only component worn out by on/off cycles is the actual power switch and “they are typically rated for 40,000 on/off cycles. Over a 10 year period, you would have to turn your computer on and off 11 times a day, 365 days per year to hit 40,000.”

If you’re not using your computer, turn it off.

Myth #4: If I’m not actually working on it, my PC doesn’t use much power. Not true either. According to the Harvard Green Campus Initiative, whether idling or crunching big spreadsheet numbers, computers use about 45 watts for the CPU and 80 watts for a CRT monitor. 



Enabling the energy-saving features on newer PCs, however, drops consumption to about 15 watts total.



Myth #5: My one little computer can’t be that big a deal. Also from Harvard comes this eye-opening number: one desktop computer left on all day is responsible for more than 1,500 pounds of atmospheric CO2 over a year.



All of which means, as a minimum, turn off office PCs and peripherals when they’re not in use, and get rid of screensavers. To save even more electricity, slay those vampires with power bars. A power bar at every workstation may cost some money up-front but that investment will come back as long-term savings and the positive feeling that you’ve actually done some good.


7 energy savers

From Ohio University comes this power-saving tip sheet. More good ideas are online at www.facilities.ohiou.edu/greenpc.

> enable your PC’s standby/sleep mode and power management features

> review documents on-screen instead of printing them

> turn off peripherals until you are about to use them

> choose dark backgrounds for your screen display

> network or share printers where possible

> use the double-sided printing option

> send e-mail instead of paper memos or faxes