If you care about the environment, here are a few tips that can help your computer be more eco-friendly.

Leave it on or switch if off?

Many people wonder whether or not to leave their PC on when it’s not in use. Some of us actually leave our computer on overnight. There is a notion going around that says switching the computer on and off will put undue wear and tear on it’s components. Would you leave your car running all the time? For the same reason, it’s unnecessary to leave your computer on all the time too. It makes sense to switch it off when it’s not in use. It saves energy and money. My general rule of thumb is, if I’m not going to use my computer for another hour, I power it down. This goes for all peripherals too such as monitors, printers and scanners. I don’t know about you but I have forgotten to switch off my printer on more than one occasion in the past. I recently found a clever device that automatically controls the power to all peripherals when the desktop computer is switched on and off.

Intelliplug - 3 Way Automatic Power Switch

Please note this NOT suitable for laptops. The manufacturer claims that with all the electricity you save, the device will pay for itself after a year. It contains surge protection too. There is also a plug board available for more peripherals.

8 Socket InteliPanel

Bin it or recycle it?

Finished with that old computer or printer? Don’t send it to the tip. Recycle it instead. Some local charity shops will happily take them off your hands. A word of caution; if your giving away your computer make sure your hard drive is wiped. There have been many horror stories about credit card numbers being stolen from old computer hard drives. This does not simply mean reformatting the drive or reinstalling the operating system. The drive should be wiped with a data wiping program to make sure all sensitive data is permanently removed. Contact me if you need help with this.

Eco printing

Consider using recycled paper for your printer. If possible, do duplex printing i.e. printing on both sides of the paper. Rather than throwing your cartridges away, take them to your local inkjet refill shop. This causes less pollution and saves you money.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 12th, 2007 at 1:43 pm and is filed under Computer Support. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.