Information Technology

Energy Conservation Recommendations

Computers, Monitors and Printers

SOU Information Technology (IT) provides the following Energy Conservation Recommendations for Computers, Monitors and Printers

Personal computers, printers and monitors use a significant amount of electricity. There is a great deal of advice about whether or not to turn your computer equipment off when you're away from your desk. In the past some have been concerned that excessive switching shortens equipment life, thus costing more in repairs. However, various research studies show otherwise, and support the following recommendations.

Turn your monitor off when not in use for more than 30 minutes.

Unless there is a specific need, all new computers are purchased with an LCD display. LCD displays use considerably less energy than CRT displays. Through bulk purchasing SOU IT continues to negotiate the lowest price possible without adversely affecting quality.

Turn your computer off when not in use for more than two hours.

Some older computers suffer from lengthy power up and network login cycles. If you find it unproductive to wait for the system to power up, at least remember to turn off the monitor. Be sure to use your operating system's shut down procedure. Your computer's power switch should only be used as a last resort when your computer doesn't respond to a shut down request.

Turn your computer off at the end of the day.

When SOU IT has scheduled over night, unattended distribution of Windows security updates it is OK to leave your computer on as instructed. Otherwise, use your operating system's shut down procedure to turn your computer off as you are leaving.

Turn off non-networked printers and scanners when not in use.

Turn off network printers at the end of the day.

Designate a person to turn off network printers at the end of each day, and to turn them on first thing in the morning. The biggest challenge in implementing this energy conservation practice is you may think something is wrong with the printer if your job doesn't print, but it may just be that no one remembered to turn the printer on. So please check to make sure the printer is turned on before calling the Faculty & Staff Help Desk (x2-6900) to report printer problems.

Most printers have built in energy saving features, but nothing saves more electricity than manually turning them off. If you have an older model that does not have a power save mode, then it may be time to consider replacing it with one that does.

Note there is sometimes an external network print server, which is a small device that sits next to the printer. If the printer and the print server are both connected to a surge protector (Isobar) or power strip, just make sure to turn off the printer not the power strip.

Seek assistance before altering energy saving or power management features on your computer.

There are many issues to be considered before using energy saving (energy star) features. Because of hardware inconsistencies on Campus, various usage patterns and preferences of individual users, and certain aspects of using energy saving capabilities on a network, it is difficult to consistently implement the use of energy saving functionality. On Laptop computers some energy saving features have been enabled to blank the display and spin down the hard disk, as well as additional shutdown options, hibernate and suspend. SOU IT continues to review the best way to deploy energy savings features on campus computers, and we recommend that you not alter these features without seeking assistance from the Faculty & Staff Help Desk (x2-6900).

IT is committed to reducing SOU's carbon footprint and achieving cost savings through reduced power consumption. We are actively evaluating products with plans this year to deploy desktop power management software that will allow central administration of computer power management features and reporting on energy savings.

Don't use screen savers.

Screen savers do not save energy. In fact, a typical screen saver works as an executable program, causing power to be drawn by the monitor to display the screen saver and by the CPU in order to run the program, and could possibly prevent the hard disk drive from powering down. If you are using screen savers to password protect your system, we suggest you use the simple "Blank Screen" saver, which draws the least amount of energy, and again remember to turn off the monitor.

Computer Lab Managers should keep lab computers turned off until they are needed.

Leave the computers off and allow the students to turn them on as needed. During busy times, turn on rows of computers as needed and leave the rest turned off to be turned on by students as needed.