Energy conservation hysteria
Posted: 21 Feb 2010, 02:55
I just read somewhere a guy advocating, completely in earnest, unplugging everything you're not actively using at that moment. He included in the example unscrewing lightbulbs, which if you're not a certifiable dumbass, you will realize are already completely and 100% disconnected from receiving electricity by the magic we call a lightswitch. Switches in general do this actually, and they're quite good at it.
If you want to save electricity, the whales, the forest, and the icecaps too, do this: buy stuff that's more efficient. Replace things that are 10+ years old with newer models and buy with efficiency as a higher priority in your mind rather than the usual factors.
The very real and rapidly measurable savings from doing this will far outweigh things like turning things "really off" as opposed to leaving them "1% still on". Electronic devices are designed to give you the best experience by taking advantage of drawing a little bit of idle power - they will, for example, be able to start faster, or do little background things that the manufacturer understands a lot better than eco-tards.
Easy steps to reduce your monthly bills immediately:
1) Cook with a toaster oven when possible instead of your full-size oven.
2) Replace your regular light bulbs with the swirly ones if you haven't already, and turn them off if you're not in the room.
3) Turn your temperature in summer up one degree and your temperature in winter down one degree. Clothes, people.
Medium:
1) Catalog your major electronics and find out how much electricity they use on a daily basis, then compare this to appliances that are available today in your price range. Gradually replace the worst offenders as you're able.
2) Buy (and install) a newer graphics card which is energy-efficient. Cheap, used Radeon 4890s are beginning to flood the market and used very little power at idle especially. The entire 5xxx series is highly efficient. NV's new GPUs will reportedly run extremely hot and top out at 280 watts so they might not qualify here, but hopefully they will implement a low-power mode as ATI has done.
Hard:
1) Re-evaluate how you clock your CPU to see if you can hit a similar clock with slightly less voltage. Even a 0.1v drop makes a huge difference when it's the biggest energy-burner in your PC much of the time.
Pro:
1) Buy a more efficient power supply. Look for the power rating first but remember that marketing claims without certification or testing are worthless. This is why the 80 Plus certification system was created, it's an independent certification with some teeth and growing respect among enthusiasts. "80 Plus" by itself means it runs with 80% efficiency as a minimum, "80+ Bronze" is a little better, "80+ Silver" is really good, and "80+ Gold" means the PSU achieves a staggering 90% or better efficiency at all times during normal operation. I got one of these (Seasonic 750w) for about $170 and it makes such a difference to my computer's noise level, internal and room temperature, and my level of confidence in my computer itself. I can't go back to a regular PSU now, it's that good.
Worthless:
1) Save a few cents every month by unplugging crap and congratulate yourself because if you and all your neighbors do this every day for the next 10 years, you'll have saved enough electricity to power Kenya for a day.
2) Suicide. My comprehensive research has determined that by just killing yourself (as soon as possible to maximize the savings) you will, over the span of what might have been your natural lifespan, save far more than even you would have by making sure all your stuff is "really, really off".
If you want to save electricity, the whales, the forest, and the icecaps too, do this: buy stuff that's more efficient. Replace things that are 10+ years old with newer models and buy with efficiency as a higher priority in your mind rather than the usual factors.
The very real and rapidly measurable savings from doing this will far outweigh things like turning things "really off" as opposed to leaving them "1% still on". Electronic devices are designed to give you the best experience by taking advantage of drawing a little bit of idle power - they will, for example, be able to start faster, or do little background things that the manufacturer understands a lot better than eco-tards.
Easy steps to reduce your monthly bills immediately:
1) Cook with a toaster oven when possible instead of your full-size oven.
2) Replace your regular light bulbs with the swirly ones if you haven't already, and turn them off if you're not in the room.
3) Turn your temperature in summer up one degree and your temperature in winter down one degree. Clothes, people.
Medium:
1) Catalog your major electronics and find out how much electricity they use on a daily basis, then compare this to appliances that are available today in your price range. Gradually replace the worst offenders as you're able.
2) Buy (and install) a newer graphics card which is energy-efficient. Cheap, used Radeon 4890s are beginning to flood the market and used very little power at idle especially. The entire 5xxx series is highly efficient. NV's new GPUs will reportedly run extremely hot and top out at 280 watts so they might not qualify here, but hopefully they will implement a low-power mode as ATI has done.
Hard:
1) Re-evaluate how you clock your CPU to see if you can hit a similar clock with slightly less voltage. Even a 0.1v drop makes a huge difference when it's the biggest energy-burner in your PC much of the time.
Pro:
1) Buy a more efficient power supply. Look for the power rating first but remember that marketing claims without certification or testing are worthless. This is why the 80 Plus certification system was created, it's an independent certification with some teeth and growing respect among enthusiasts. "80 Plus" by itself means it runs with 80% efficiency as a minimum, "80+ Bronze" is a little better, "80+ Silver" is really good, and "80+ Gold" means the PSU achieves a staggering 90% or better efficiency at all times during normal operation. I got one of these (Seasonic 750w) for about $170 and it makes such a difference to my computer's noise level, internal and room temperature, and my level of confidence in my computer itself. I can't go back to a regular PSU now, it's that good.
Worthless:
1) Save a few cents every month by unplugging crap and congratulate yourself because if you and all your neighbors do this every day for the next 10 years, you'll have saved enough electricity to power Kenya for a day.
2) Suicide. My comprehensive research has determined that by just killing yourself (as soon as possible to maximize the savings) you will, over the span of what might have been your natural lifespan, save far more than even you would have by making sure all your stuff is "really, really off".