I use to shut my desktop computer off every night,but I was once told by a computer tech guy that it was actually better for the computer if I left it on all night. I just got done reading this,and now I am going to start shutting it down again.

Leaving computers on overnight = $2.8 billion a year

Admittedly I don't think much about it at all. I leave my laptop running overnight because I know it'll take five minutes or more to get things going in the morning -- not just booting up, but launching the various apps I start the day with, downloading my overnight email, filtering out the spam, and otherwise "getting settled."

But all the power wasted while computers are sitting idle overnight adds up, and one study has finally tried to measure it. The tally: An estimated $2.8 billion wasted on excess energy costs each year in the U.S. alone.

On a CO2 basis, that's 20 million tons of carbon dioxide, about the amount produced by 4 million cars on the road.

The full report is available for download here (scroll down to "PC Energy Report US 2009").

But big numbers like that become almost meaningless in an era of trillion-dollar bailouts, so to put the wasted energy in perspective, the study provides the data in terms you can better understand: If you run a company with 1,000 PCs left on overnight, you can save about $28,000 a year if they are turned off after hours. That's not chump change.

Of course, it's also a fact that your PC will function better if you restart it regularly, and nightly shutdowns can help you avoid having to suddenly reboot in the middle of the day when you'd otherwise be productive. So even though this little laptop, by my math, eats up only about a quarter's worth of power overnight, maybe it's a smart idea -- and ultimately a time-saver, too -- to shut it down after hours after all.

Via USA Today

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/130078
[Edited 3/28/09 11:18am]

Nope, I turn it off after use.

Unless I'm downloading something, no.
I rarely leave it on for more than 5 hours.

I always turn it off

It's only on while in use

Count me in too. Always turn it off when not in use

All the others though...

I always leave it on. I'll turn it off once every 5 days or so.

I turn it off or put it on standby

My computer guy told me to leave my computer on at all times too. But now, reading that article, makes me wonder if that is the right thing to do.

thekidsgirl said:

Yup, me too.

psychodelicide said:

your computer guy is an ass

BlueZebra said:

He seems to know what he's doing. I was turning my computer off every night, until he told me to leave it on, and to not turn it off. I dunno, I might go back to shutting it down every night. To heck with what he says.

psychodelicide said:

There's no reason why you should leave it run on idle. Actually, Windows update, which should be running, receives patches every second tuesday of the month. Most patches require a restart to be functional, so it's even dangerous to keep it running ...

BlueZebra said:

Thanks for the scoop, my computer guy did not tell me that. I definitely will start shutting my computer off at night, after I clear out my temporary and cache files. Need to make a habit out of it.

I turn off the computer...

And turn on my man.

KidaDynamite said:

no. I have a laptop. Even with a desktop I would turn it off when not in use . . .

turn mine off right before bed every night.

kimrachell said:

psychodelicide said:

You know the deal.

KidaDynamite said:

psychodelicide said:

yall nasty

DanceWme said:

You do too, especially with that damn pretty boy on your arm.

KidaDynamite said:

teach me how to fuck him to death!

DanceWme said:

mmmhmmm needin jesus and a shamwow cloth.

KidaDynamite said:

Christopher said:

@ the Harriet Winslow picture.

DanceWme said:

Spread some gravy on the table, throw him in it, stuff a steak in his mouth and ride him until he chokes on it.

KidaDynamite said:

Have you got room for an extra guest at dinner?

Steadwood said: