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Computer Energy Savings FAQ

Why should I care about my computer’s energy use?

Desktop computers use a lot of energy! Some simple facts:

  • After lighting and air conditioning, computers are the biggest energy-users in NYU's office spaces!
  • If NYU faculty and staff left all of their personal desktop computers on all the time, it would use over 15,000,000 kWh each year. That's over $3,000,000 worth of electricity!
  • It's easy to reduce your computer's energy consumption. Configure it to sleep/hibernate when you're not using it. Just follow the platform-specific steps below.

How can I be efficient and cut energy waste with Windows 7?

Click on the Start menu and select "Control Panel."


Select "System and Security" and then select "Power Options." Make sure the "Power saver" option is selected:

What about with Windows XP?

You can help save energy by setting your computer to "hibernate" when you leave it unattended for a certain amount of time. This means that it will save its settings and shut down — then when you turn it back on it will restore all its settings.

Click on the Start menu and select "Settings" -> "Control Panel". Go to "Power Options" (if you can't find it, look under "Performance and Maintenance").

Select the "Hibernate" tab and make sure "Enable hibernation" is checked.

Select the "Power Schemes" tab. Set your monitor to turn off after 30 minutes of inactivity, and set your system to hibernate after 2 hours of inactivity. Click OK.

I'm a Mac user, what can I do?

Click the apple menu in the upper-left corner of your screen and select "System Preferences..."

In the window that appears, under Hardware, select "Energy Saver." Set your computer and display to sleep after a certain period of inactivity to reduce energy consumption when you are away from your computer:

What else can I do to help save energy?

Make sure to turn off your printer and all other peripherals (monitor, speakers, etc.) when you leave for the night — one easy way is to put your computer and all peripherals on a power strip, and just turn that off when you leave.

Make sure to print double-sided as much as you can. When you hit "Print" and get the print dialog box, click "Properties" (or "Preferences" in Windows XP), then select the "Finishing" tab, then choose the appropriate setting under "Print on Both Sides."

Set your monitor to a brightness level that is readable but not too bright. You can usually do this using the buttons along the bottom of the monitor, but you may need to look up information on how to do this with your specific monitor.