Did you know you can make a light bulb last up to 5 times longer if you
don't turn it off? Years ago I was put in charge of figuring out a way to
keep bulbs in outdoor signs from dying so quickly as the company I was
doing the work for was spending a fortune in bulbs and labor to replace
them. The solution of course was to not turn off the signs but rather to
dim them to the point where they were not visible during the day but yet
still keep power to the bulbs reducing the shock of ON/OFF cycles.
Most television sets these days never turn off any more, they just switch
to standby, why? the manufacturer tells the consumer that the TV turns on
quicker if it is not allowed to completely tun off but the real truth of
the matter is that the shock of turning power on and off causes more damage
to the electronics than leaving them powered thereby shortening the life
span of the television .
Hard-core audiophiles never turn off their audio electronics, why? they
will tell you that the sound quality of a cold amp is harsh and thin when
compared to the sound from amplifier that has been ON for 24 hours BUT the
OTHER reason is that TUBES in high end amplifiers are ridiculously
expensive look here , a
matched pair of Western Electric 300B tubes will set you back US$700, OUCH!
If turning off an amplifier prolonged the life of this tube audiophiles
would turn off their amps, believe me.
SO the point of my discussion is that the power savings is a moot point
when you consider the cost and environmental impact of manufacturing new
products all the time, either you use a little more energy now keeping you
computer turned on or when it fails prematurely from constant cycling
(ON/OFF) you drive (gasoline) to the store(lights, heat, employee
transportation, electricity to power the whole store) and buy a monitor
which was manufactured (lights, heat, employee transportation, equipment in
the manufacturing process such as assembly lines, reflow soldering
stations, cardboard and Styrofoam for packaging (also manufactured)) and
shipped to the store (more fuel used), all of which, in the grand scheme of
things, negates any savings realized from turning your computer off.
Just my $.02 worth.
Don Doucette
Camera911
>It's cumulative. If every computer in the world used half the power it
>now does, or less, the impact would be substantial. Do you keep the
>monitor on as well (even if in power save mode?). It all adds to the
>burden. More to the point, its unnecessary. You may have to go to
>work, you may have to use your computer at home, but you don't have to
>keep in on 24/7. You get little direct advantage from it, and it is
>environmentally impactful.
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