Green Computing Takes Off

Until recently no one seemed to care about how much electricity a computer used. Today more and more companies and home users consider energy efficiency to be important.

One can only wonder how much energy the computer sitting beneath their desk wastes each day. When not being activly used it sits there sucking electricity, even when it is turned completely off. Manufacturers have begun to respond to the desires of both corporate and private America by producing new, highly efficient computer products. While change is occuring across the board, several developments stand out from the pack.

Killing The Energy Vampires

Almost every electonic product, even when turned off, consumes energy. When a computer is off, power still flows to the circuit boards to power the ethernet card and internal clock. Other peripherals such as the printer, scanner, router, and cable modem all draw power even when the computer is not in use. The most effective way to combat this problem is to use a power bar to completely turn off the electricity at the source. Rather than dealing with this hassle, some companies are now producing "green" power strips that automatically shut off power to all unneccessary appliances when the computer enters the shutdown process in Windows. When the computer is turned on, the power strip restores power to the peripherals. Communication is maintained between the power strip and computer via a USB port.