I've heard that it is better to put your computer on "sleep" at night rather than shut it down. Is that true?

Back in the day, people used to think that starting up your computer put a lot of wear and tear on the machine. This may have been true when people were using punch cards and computers were the size of refrigerators, but it's not true any longer. According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, frequent shut-downs and start-ups do not affect modern computers. They have found that hard drives may actually last longer when shut down often, because mechanical wear, heat stress and dust intake are reduced.

Some people also falsely believe that starting up a computer wastes a lot more energy than simply leaving it on in an inactive state. It is true that computers draw more energy during heavy usage (like during start-up), but the difference between that and having it on while not in use is only slight. Computers left on generally use about 120 Watts whether you are using them or not. (That's about 75 Watts for the monitor and 45 Watts for the CPU. Laptops and flat screens use less.)

Putting the computer on "sleep mode" can definitely save energy -- some estimates say as much as 60%. But if you're planning to be away from your computer for more than several hours, shutting it down completely will still save you considerably more electricity.

Please also be sure not to confuse "sleep mode" with a screen saver. Screen savers do not save any energy whatsoever. They were originally designed to keep your screen from getting worn out with one static image, but don't even do a particularly good job at that. When your screen saver is on, both your CPU and your monitor are on at full power.

To download a program that will automatically set your computer to go to sleep and eventually shut down if left idle for too long, visit the Energy Star website at: http://www.microtech.doe.gov/EnergyStar/ez_wizard.html

For an FAQ on how to change the settings manually, get started at: http://www.tufts.edu/tie/tci/pcpowermanagement/FAQ.html

See past questions here.

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