Top 10 (Green) ITS Tips

1. Turn your computer off when you are done for the day:
   Unless you need your computer to do something over night, there’s no good reason to keep it on, even in sleep mode. In addition to saving energy, turning off the computer helps reduce heat, stress, and wear on the system.

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2. Use your computer’s power management settings:
   Reduce energy when you are away from your computer for short periods of time.

    

   Power Management Configuration Instructions
   Macintosh
   Windows XP/2000
   Windows Vista

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3. Keep your personal printer off when not in use:
   In most cases a printer uses more power than any other device, even when in sleep mode.

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4. Think before you print:
   Do you really need to print out another draft of that paper or bring extra copies of the agenda to meetings?

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5. If you must print, print double-sided:
   You’ll use half the paper. If possible, change your printer settings to default to double- sided.

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6. Reduce the brightness of your monitor:
   The brightest settings draw the most power.

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7. Always recycle printer cartridges and paper.
8. Don’t use a screen saver:
   Screen savers were useful when CRTs had “burn-in” issues, but any new CRT or LCD will not have this issue. Screen savers may be fun, but they can use quite a bit of power, especially if they use high-quality graphics. If you go away from your computer, use your power settings to put the monitor to sleep or just turn it off.

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9. Use a “Smart Strip” power strip:
   Smart Strips power down all your computer peripherals at the same time when you turn off the computer so that you don’t have to remember to turn them off separately.

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10. Look for the Energy Star when you shop for a new computer, monitor, or printer:
    Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. For more information on Energy Star guidelines, see the Energy Star website.

     

    To assist you in making environmentally sound purchases, EPEAT ranks computers, monitors, and printers that meet 23 required environmental criteria and 28 optional criteria.

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