Want a quick green business practice to reduce the energy used in your office?

A standard part of both Windows and Mac operating systems are power management features that put the computer to sleep after a period of inactivity. These power options can be changed by the user and in some computers are not activated at all so it is worth checking to make sure these options are turned on. By having the computer power down when it is not needed you will reduce your electricity consumption (and your power bills).

If you want to go even further you can check out software designed to manage your computer power options. For example:

Edison by Verdiem – Free software that works in a similar way to the operating systems power management features but also allows you to create different times for powering off parts of the computer depending on whether it is work or non work time. You can also put your local cost of electricity per kWh and the program will show you your estimated annual savings.

PowerSave – Is software available for both Windows and Mac. The software goes further than the normal operating system standby and monitors usage of the CPU, hard drive, monitor, keyboard and mouse to determine which parts of the computer can be powered down while ensuring critical programs continue to run.

If you have a whole computer network in your business the savings from using power management tools can be substantial. On a Windows Vista network you can use Group Policy for power management. Otherwise for 2000 or XP machines Energy Star offers a free tool for network administrators.

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