Computers consume significant energy (and money) at UCCS. The following suggestions will save energy
while still keeping your system useful.
There's a misconception that newer equipment with the Energy Star logo are automatically energy
efficient. Energy Star compliance means the equipment can be configured to save energy. In addition, we
don't recommend setting the computer to maximum savings as it will make the equipment hard to use.
Screensavers do not conserve energy. The moving video prevents an image from "burning" into
the screen, but uses the monitor at full power.
Turn off your computer, monitor, and printer when you leave for the day. Many years ago, restarting a
computer shortened the lifespan of the electronics. This is no longer true and shutting the equipment off
at night may even extend the computer's life. Computers running Windows should be turned off each night
as this aids the operating system in keeping the computer running well.
We recommend setting the monitor to turn off after 20 minutes of inactivity, the hard disk at 30
minutes, and system standby or hibernation at 90 minutes.
On Windows computers, these adjustments are made in the Control Panel under Power Options. With a
Macintosh computer, it's called Energy Saver in the Control Panels.
Larger printers also have power saving capabilities. We recommend setting them to go into standby after
30 minutes.