Think Green Live Clean

Photo Credit: Vedia

Everyday I put my laptop away and wonder if I should leave it on sleep mode or turn it off.  I have always thought that it took more energy to turn it on and off every day, so I leave it on sleep mode and put it in my desk.  It turns out that this is not the real issue when it comes to energy conservation.  Whether or not you turn your computer off and on each day or leave it in sleep mode does not have a huge impact on the amount of energy consumed.  According to Michael Bluejay, an energy efficiency expert, a laptop, while in use, consumes around 15-60 watts.  While in sleep mode, it only uses 2-5 watts, and while turned off, it obviously uses none.  The sleep mode uses so little energy that the difference in energy consumption is not worth worrying about.

The real issue here is making sure to unplug your electronics at night.  Putting your computer in sleep mode at night is the best way to reduce energy consumption, according to a representative of the EPA’s Energy Star Program, but unplugging laptops completely and other electronics would make much more of a difference, seeing as the number of electronics a person owns has grown as technology has.

So, in the end, putting your computer in some sort of power saving mode (i.e. hibernation, sleep mode) does not take as much energy as turning it on or off.  But, make sure that your computer and charger (if applicable) is unplugged while your computer is not being used.

Learn more about shutting down your computer vs. using sleep mode here.