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Should You Turn Off Your Computer When You Aren’t Using It?

There are two different schools of thought on this. One is that computers use energy and should be turned off when not in use. The other is that the hard drives and electronics are stressed more by the power up process and changing temperatures than by a constant temperature, and turning it on and off actually shortens the life of the computer.

Peter Norton, an acknowledged technical expert, responds to this question in his book, “Inside the PC.” He states that “The real question is not ‘Should you turn off you PC when you aren’t using it?’ but ‘For how long do you have to anticipate that you won’t be using your PC before it is clearly better to turn it off rather than leave it on for your next use?’”

He responds that if you expect to be using your computer within 8 hours, it makes sense to let it on. If longer, you should power down.

If you opt to keep your computer on, you can still save power. 

• The monitor usually uses more power than the computer and all the rest of the accessories put together (other than a laser printer).  You can simply turn off the monitor and turn it back on when you want to use it. 
• Many newer computers have automatic power saving features that minimize the power used.  If the screen goes black when you aren’t actively using the PC, it probably already has its power saving features enabled. 
• Some computers have a button on the keyboard that puts the computer into Sleep Mode.  This doesn’t power it down completely, but it does minimize power consumption.

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