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The cost of computing

Modern computers consume a lot of electricity. Even an average computer these days is rated at 300W with higher-end workstations and multimedia gaming machines drawing well over 1kW. On top of the basic computer, there are the add-ons including monitors, speakers, broadband routers and the like, all consuming electricity.

Some people switch their computers off when they are not using them - and that's great! Others however simply don't think and leave them on all the time (anyone with teenage children will know what we mean). But so what?

Well here's the so what. If your typical PC with its monitor, printer, router and all the other bits used say 300W of electricity that makes 300 x 24 (hours a day) x 365 (days in a year) which makes 2,628 kWh in a year. If you've got a good deal on electricity, you might be paying 9.5p a kilowatt hour - you might well be paying more - and at that price the computer would be costing £250 a year just to leave on all the time. You didn't read it wrong TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY POUNDS A YEAR to run a PC if its left on all the time.

Save £175 a year

By using PC Power Down to switch off your computer and its peripherals, you could easily save £175 a year. If yours were the average PC described above and you only really needed it to be on for say, 55 hours a week, (11 hours a day for 5 days), yet it is normally left on, the electricity used for the remaining 113 hours a week would be costing you £175 a year. By using PC Power Down to ensure that your computer and its peripherals are powered down when the computer is not needed will save you that £175 a year.