Which is more energy efficient? Leave computer on all day, or turn on and off as needed?

As needed consumes less power, but is inconvenient to wait for it to boot.

Try placing it in a hibernation mode or turning off the monitor when not in use. Windows will even allow you to set power usage guidelines.

As long as you power down properly it will not be bad for your computer.

In XP:

Laptops & Desktops:

Go to Start> Control Panel> Power Options> Hibernate: here check the box.

I recommend shutdowns using the 'hibernate' method. It's nearly a zero power state; puts all open work (and Windows) onto the hard drive 'cache' for really fast startups; and if power is lost (storms, etc.) your document or picture you were working on won't be lost like it would be in 'Standby' mode.

To show this option when turning unit off; Start> Turn Off Computer> HOLD down 'Shift' key & 'Standby' becomes "Hibernate': then check.

Some systems have a 'crescent moon' key to go right to hibernate.

Forcing a shutdown with the power button is NOT a good option; only a last resort as it prevents Windows from 'housekeeping' files to get ready for the next startup, and will over time cause file corruption & break Windows.

This question dates back a long way. Different people always say different things. In my experience, if the computer is going to be used again within 2-3 hours, I'd leave it on. If not, I shut it off.

Keep two things in mind:

1) With it on all the time, the drive is running and the computer is generating heat in your home. Your A/C may kick on to help combat that, and thus you're using energy elsewhere that you think you might be saving. If you ran a car 24/7, it's doing to have problems sooner than a car that runs a portion of the time. The same goes with the computer. Moving parts fail.

2) With it off much of the time, power cycling it means items heat up, then cool down. In the early days of computers, chips would often work their way out of sockets (known as chip creep) due to the metal pins expanding and contracting as a result of temperature changes (power cycles). This expansion/contraction happens with other components as well, so that's also something to be aware of.

Therefore, it's really your decision as to how you would like to do it, based on your own convenience. My general rule of thumb is in the first paragraph.

-Mike

FixMyPC

http://www.fixmypclv.com/

Turn it off when you aren't using it for more than a half hour. If you're running Windows, Hibernate is a good option as all your applications are still up and ready to run when you start back up.

These days, most PCs are built with the expectation that people turn them on and off, so the concern about damaging components when you keep cycling the power seems a bit misplaced to me. Older computers, as well as modern mainframes and servers, are built with the expectation that they're always kept running, so the designers don't try to minimize wear and tear caused by power cycling.

One of my golden rules is, always turn things off even if you think you're going to use them again in a short time. Because half the time, some distraction crops up and you wind up not turning the device on again for hours or days. You leave your computer running while you run to the store for milk. While you're there you meet a friend, go out for coffee, remember you need to pick up the dry cleaning, and so on. What good is it doing your computer to keep running?

Don't just shut off your computer. Shut off all the peripherals too, when they're not in use. And shut them off at the power bar, not just the device. Those AC to DC converters that power routers, cable modems, printers, speakers, and other peripherals are all burning up power 24x7 if you leave them plugged in - often even if the device they are powering is switched off.

If you want to see just how much electricity you are using when you leave your computer switched on, get a Kill A Watt meter or similar electricity consumption meter. I used one on my PC at work and discovered, among other things, that using one of those fancy screen savers increased power consumption by the computer itself by about 20-30 watts, as well as increasing power consumption by the monitor.

I've got a few more electricity saving tips on my little energy saving website, check out the links below.

Turn it on and off as needed. That way is more energy efficient.

It won't damage your computer.

You can set your power settings to have your computer all but shut down most of the day. Go to your screen saver settings and click change power settings then change to the desired amount. I wouldn't suggest turning the computer on and off because it will cause major component failure such as the power supply going bad.

That's kind of a no brainer, if you think about it... but I'm gonna put a question to you, and let's see what answer you come to..

Which uses less gas... turning the car on and off when I want to use it, or leaving it running when I'm not using it?

Now.. second question.. why would you think a computer was any different? Does a light bulb that is off use any electricity? So, does it use more electricity when it is on, compared to it being off?

Come ON... you can't be that .... well, anyhow...

The computer uses FAR LESS ENERGY when it is off, compared to when it is on.

You can turn it off and can turn it on as and when required. Turning it off all day will not damage computer.. neither with turning it on.

I would leave it turned on all day and enable Hibernation under Start>Control Panel>Power Options>Hibernation.

on and off - don't know about it being bad for computer but its definitely more energy efficient!