I would like to know if it's better to leave your computer on all the time or shut it off. Some say it saves you electricity if you shut if off and others say it doesn't use that much electricity because it hibernates.
I personally think that it's practical for people who use their PCs everyday to leave it on. But I'm not sure if that is good for the computer.
What do you think? Is it better to leave the computer or not?
[question posted by VotreAmie]
responses and comments:
We leave our computer on all the time but shut off the monitor when we go to bed at night to save on a bit of power this way . I am not sure if it actually saves any on the power or not by only shutting off the monitor but I like it when it is dark and don't see any need to leave it on all night . I have always been told that if you shut your computer down each night that it is actually harder on your computer . I am not sure if this is true or not but don't like having to get up and wait for it to load everything all over again , so we leave ours on all the time unless it starts acting up and needs a reboot . [samtaylorskykierajen]
usually when i must go away for a short period of time and have something to download -i leave it on. But if i will miss for more- allways off. [magica]
Depends on how old the computer is. If you have a computer than starts to struggle after about seven hours of use(or just seven hours of being on), you may as well shut it down. Especially if it is prone to freezing. [kataztrophy]
For environmental reasons I think it's a really bad idea to leave the computer on 247. If you use the hybernate function it will open in no time and exactly as you left it the next time you need it. [pointyblue]
I will leave my desktop on all the time, I find it more convenient to leave it on and the CPU does not use a lot of electricity, but will turn off the monitor to save electricity as it comsumes more. [ganwn071]
yess,i leave my computer on all day and all night long.i sleep by it so i can hear the witch's ground on live365.com.i love listening to that station. thanks for asking. Goddess Bless)O( [jdw1971witch]
and i seriously think it is better to leave the computer on all the time.because if you going to get back on it later,than why turn it off?i leave mine on all the time and never turn it off.at least i put it on standby. Goddess Bless)O( [jdw1971witch]
I used to leave my PC on, but turn off my laptop all time after each use. Then, recently my PC is die now -- virus infection. All I can say now is, unless you have anti-virus softward and firewall protaction for you computer, else make sure you either shut down your computer or at lease disconnect online connection while you are away. [Hgateway]
I turn my computer on in the morning and off when I go to bed. Turning it offat night helps dump some of the clutter that accumlates in the memory. [bobmnu]
no when i need then i use to on this other wise why to on it. ya when i want to listen the music then i on this. [ankushmahajan1]
i think that it is better to shut down your computer because it saves your power and also when you restart your computer it refreshes your window. i also think that it is not good for your computer [mitsubishi]
I have left my computers on all the time and the only time I usually shut them off is during an electrical storm or when I leaving town for more than one day. Now one of my friends did this and the power supply in his computer just recently burned out. I believe that there are advantages and disadvantages to leaving a computer on as well as shutting it off when you are not using it. [keithstieneke]
It is better to turn off the computer when you leave the computer or when nobody's using the computer because before we do leave our computer on all time and when our electric bill come we are all shock because our bill was very high.Thats why now when we leave the computer we put it off. [roque20]
i think its not good to leave your computer on everything needs a rest too you know hihi. and also it makes you save from the electric bill. [anubiz]
Hey i think think it depends on the amount workload u have if ur going to work for contious hours then can be turned on.but if ur workoad is less then it does not have to be turned on for long time..... [gaumi007]
Each and every machine has its own depreciation whether it's a mechanical, electrical or electronic. It is better and advised to computer off when you are not doing anything with it. It not only saves energy but also gives your computer chips a rest and keep the chips cool for some time. Since electricity flows through almost each and every part of the motherboard and all accessories of computer they are heated up to certain extent though no of fans are attached to computers board to keep it cool. All the fans if run 24x7 then the life of those fans also diminish. So better keep on computer till you work, otherwise shut it down for its long life. To start it it takes only a minute or two so there should not be any wastage of time to on it again. Only if you are downloading long files keep it on. I always shut down when my work is over. [ibsnet]
i usually turn off my computer when it not in use to prevent from overheating that may cause fire. there was already an incident when fire broke out and destroyed several houses because of overheating of computer. i don't want this to happen so i let my pc set turn off when i am not using it. [ryanphil01]
I'll shut the computer off when not in use not just because of conserving electricity but leaving ur computer on will burn up its hard drives because of the heat, the fan could also be destroyed if it keeps spinning and the belt will tear off. The fan cannot support the computer's heat and needs to be cooled ones in a while. [lbarets]
I usually switch off the computer when I am not using it and have finished my work but if I have to use it after a few minutes again then I don't shut it down.It does save a lot of electricity.I think keeping the computer on all the time will also make the life of many parts inside it shorter.Further even in the hibernation computer does ue electricity though it might be less then in the running state.I think we should not be lazy in switching the computers atleast in India where there is o much shortage of power as "the Energy saved is the Energy Produced." [tonyxxx]
I think environmentally you must turn off all electrical appliances. I must admit to being lazy in the past but now I have a son I'm more aware of his future [MarcRobin]
Well with me I always turn my computer off when I have finished with it whether it be in the day or night and especially if I am going out of the home, as you never know if you have a storm and it affects your computer. Oh no it does not use that much electricity this is true. [kathy77]
As far as power conception is concerned pc doesnt needs that much electricity. cpu needs only 12v power to work on like a cfl lamp. Only the monitor eat much more. So switch off your monitor while pc is not in use. if you are not a freequent user then it is better to shut down the computer [jothis]
As far as power conception is concerned pc doesnt needs that much electricity. cpu needs only 12v power to work on like a cfl lamp. Only the monitor eat much more. So switch off your monitor while pc is not in use. if you are not a freequent user then it is better to shut down the computer. [jothis]
The guy who used to fix my computer back home used to tell me to leave it on, that it's easier on the components than turning it on and off, so I leave mine on all the time, unless it's storming outside. Even with a surge protecter, my mother board was destroyed by lightening. [dlkuku]
No, I just turn it on if I need to check up on something. I try to conserve the electricity and I know computers are one of the reasons why our electric bill's high especially now it's summer this is the only thing I can do. [edzingers]
Sometimes i do live my computer on because i am been very busy and i forgot to turn it off but my parents always told me that i must turn off the computer after using it. [denden]
I feel its better to switch off.. if not working.. I have habit of shutting down my pc.. if i don't use.. [childangel]
At the office, my computer is on all 8 hours each day and its running okay.. But of course, i think it really consumes so much electricity.. but then again, at work, i use it all the time so i guess it's really better to leave it on all the time.. At home i shut the computer down whenever i do not use it. It saves me elecetricity and my home is not air conditioned so i think the computer might be overheat if i don't turn it off for the whole 8 hours. [livvy092002]
I use the computer almost every day and I like to turn it off if I'm not going to be using it for a long period of time of if I'm leaving the house. If I'm just going out for no longer than 30 minutes then I do prefer to keep the computer on, but otherwise I just turn it off. I guess I do this so I don't waste electricity, but apparently a TV set uses more electricity than a computer, especially if it's hibernating. I think for me it's mostly about feeling safe, I'm always worried that the computer might start a fire somehow! I know this probably never happens, but my grandfather was a fireman so I was raised to be extra aware of possible dangers. I'd rather be safe than sorry, really. [5000ml]
Most of the time I leave my PC on but, if I'm gone I turn it off. [dixie1]
No i usually don't leave my computer on all the time unless i have started a download and it is going to take much time. i shut down my pc when i go to bed i don't feel it problamatic to restart it in the morning as i think it will take less then a minute to start. i too think putting on computer all the time may not be good for the health of computer [skbadhan]
We leave ours on 24/7. It's set to go into sleep mode after 15 minutes and so we save on power that way, and it also doesn't take forever the next morning. We've been having problems with rebooting, where the thing just takes forever and so, if we don't have to, we'd rather not turn it off. The only time that our PC is off for any length of time is when we go on vacation. That kind of makes sense. [retardedrugrat]
Thats what i know if you leave your computer on it will consume electricity but im not really particular about it. for me everytime im finish using the computer. I always shut it off as for the pc not to be over heat as we dont have aircondition. [cheenlly]
The computer experts say you can leave your computer on all day and all night-24 hours a day. If a warning beep goes off, then the computer is overheating and must be shut off so it will cool down. My computer does that when it is very hot in the summer. [evlo173]
i turned off my computer everytime i'm done using it! [izzieizzie]
i usually leave my laptop on all day. ive heard that its not good to turn it on and off too much. plus, im usually on my laptop several times during the day, so its annoying to have to wait for it to start up each time i need to use it! maybe it does use a lot of electricity, but that's something im not gonna change right now. however, if im going somewhere overnight or on a long trip, i always turn it off because there's no reason for it to be on. [pagli84]
I usually leave the desktop computer on all the time. The laptop I usually shutdown. I think it is better to leave the computer on because it does not really consume much electricity and constantly turning the computer on and off causes it to warm and cool too drastically. This could cause the chips and other metallic components to come loose. I turn off laptops because I am just afraid it could overheat when I try to transport it on a bag. [myexcellency2]
i do. so that i keep the downloading running. most of the time i forget to shut it down before i go to school. i think it does save energy if you shut it down. i shut my computer down about once a week so it could rest. sometimes if i forget to turn it off for a really long time, i notice that it gets slower, so i turn it off. but i use my computer all the time, i just leave it on. :) also that way, people can just leave me messages at YM all the time. [rockerwitch]
My parents won't let me leave the computer on all the time, they say it uses too much electricity. I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, my computer makes too much noise, lol. :( I do turn off the monitor when I'm away. [Redrum666]
I leave my computer on 24/7. I do think it is usfull to leave it on because as you said you can get on to it. [drakan291]
i leave my computer on all the time when i go out,i don't shut off it,when i went back,i want to surf internet,so i can sit down ,and begin to do my game.though it will waste much electricity,but it will save my time,i like to leave my computer on. [mari123]
We shut down our computer during the time we also sleep. For me, I don't think it would be a good idea to leave your pc on all the time. It may be a machine but I think it also needs its rest as well. Although I'm not very sure but since our pc is placed in an un-airconditioned room, we let it rest when its not being used. [raineeiram]
I leave my computer on from the first time I use it until I go to bed at night. If we leave our computers on overnight every night, it adds about $20 to the electric bill, but during the day, we're back and forth enough that it wouldn't make sense to keep turning them off and on. [resa77]
please shut it off as any which work or even on stand by consumes power.best option is to go for hibernate ,as it start faster then restart. [sumeetpal]
i shut down my PC when i am going to sleep , it doesn't take much electricity but at night i think it need to rest , to be colder and another thing what if there is a bad electricity when i am not there ? sure it will harm my PC . [lamiaa]
You are right ..Its not a good option for us and computer both..!! It can be done with those who use computer very frequently...!! But I am not in such kind of people I am kind of lazy so I'll probably turn the computer off..!! And then can open it up again after 2-3 hours. Thats much more easy I don't want to become a geeky girl with BIG specs on her eyes....lol Have Fun [stella1989]
I kick start my day with my computer only... yeah! mostly my computer will be on all the day... i keep yhe monitor off only wen i am listening to songs.. Its the fact that the processor will consume more power, kepping the monitor on or off will not bring any great difference in saving the power [tulips9]
I leave my computer on most of the time. Its just easier for me that way. Its set to sleep after so many hours idle, so it doesnt fry my hard drive or take up that much electricity. I just hate having to wait for my computer to turn on in the morning, so I leave it on overnight. During the day it always on. [MrNiceGuy]
I do not leave my computer on all the time as I will turn it off when I go to bed at night because the sound of the computer will keep me awake all night. I heard that for people with sleeping problems that have a computer in their bedroom, it is better to turn the computer off completely. I also turn the computer off before going to work each day. I will leave it on when I am home and doing other things around the house or outside. [kgwat70]
I've heard that turning them on and off is bad for them. The burst of electricity when you turn it on can eventually short out or burn out the chips. I don't know if that is really true or not though. I leave mine on all day and usually shut it off at night. [mikeyr6000le]
mine has been on since it was first plugged in i never shut it down! [revdauphinee]
i do! i leave my pc on here in office on all the time, i will just restart and then leave it on with my email application working. i have to leave it open since i might not receive other important mails since our office is 24-7 [chiyosan]
Well, I have umlimited Broadband Package so I am always downloading something or other, whenever I sleep or go out, I put something on downloading... So I always keep my computer on... [manzician]
I leave mine on. I have it running all day, so it is more practical for me to leave it on all the time. [Sherry12]
if you dont have anything to do or to download what's the sense of leaving your computer open.. i only leave my pc open when im downloading big file.. [gemille]
I leave my on all the time as I use it every day. I've been told that it extends the life of the computer to leave it running every day rather than shutting it off as shutting it off and on all the time wears out the hard drive faster. Most companies I have worked for over the years, never shut down their computers over night for the same reason. [wachit14]
Nope, I always turned it off whenever I leave the house. This is to make sure that the we prevent any fire in our area. I've heard in the news lately that hundred's of houses are burnt because of turning the computer ON. [CopyPaper]
Hi VotreAmie!!! I think it is better if we shut our computer off so we can save the electricity and our computer won't be burned so soon!!! I always turn if off everytime i go out or go to sleep to keep it's in good shape and work better. And it becomes my habit till now. [becuttieusa]
I'm actually one who switches there computer off if I am not using it. I also turn my computer off at work which is something that not all of my colleagues do. It's just a habit I have developed. [spudsstuff]
When your computer hibernates, it shuts off. It just retains what you were working on, although my internet connection closes. Every little bit of electricity saved is important, because for those who don't know, electricity costs money. The importance of shutting of your computer is that it completely closes off anything you were doing and it "finishes" working. Tech guys always ask if you've tried turning your computer off and then on again, because this completely arbitrary move apparently sets your computer to some kind of standard, like putting things away and organizing them or cleaning them out or something. I really don't know. All I know is so many installation programs ask you to shut off your computer. Plus, when I had my computer left on in order to allow for a very long albeit important download to transfer, the computer would run slower and slower, and even crashed at one point when it had been left on. I'm not sure about the technical aspects, and I don't really care, but apparently your computer needs to "rest", and simply letting it go into sleep mode isn't the same, because it retains all of teh short term memory, which needs to be cleaned out for your computer to perform optimally. [ZaffireWolf]
For me, i always keep my computer off when i am not using coz i really saves electricity for that. It really depends on you, i think it is just ok to leave your computer 24 hours a day if it does not heat up. But if you are electricity conscious then just turn it off. [joice86]
I sometimes leave my laptop on all night, but just close the screen. Hubby turns off his desktop everynight. I have heard you save electricity by turning it off, but I don't think it uses that much, so I don't worry about it. [KimMaple]
There are times that i have to leave my computer on overnight, especially if am downloading something, or there are some scripts that i need to run for my online biz. I leave it ON but i check it from time to time. We don't know what could happened the entire night, leaving the computer ON. And i think its not good if you do it everyday making your pc busy 24/7. You also have to rest it for a while. Speaking of hibernation, your pc don't d o it automatically, you have to set it. If i leave my pc own overnight, i turn off the monitor, to at least save electricity. :) [jmp824]
I was told it's better to leave the computer itself on, not in hibernation though just on, but to turn off the monitor when you won't be on it for a while. It's supposed to be easier on the computer parts not to power up and down. Now turning off the monitor can save you electricity. I do that when I go to bed, turn off the monitor and then turn it on when I get up again. I've noticed it does help with the electric bill but how much I don't know. Hope that helps. [emeraldisle]
I think when we are not using the computer for a longer duration, it would be better to switch it off. Switching off the computer will surely save the electricity. But if you are away from computer say for 5 minutes or so then you can leave it as it is. [dpk262006]
Well, lots of people out there are wasting energy. In my own simple ways i can save energy by: 1. Switching off my computer when nit in use. 2. Turning off the light at night time before bed. Simple, i dont leave my computer on when its not nescessary..Good question.. [chase07]
I am not so sure what good will it do to the PC if you do not shut it down. I normally shut down all my computers everyday. If I don't shut down, then I would leave them to hibernate. I have never left them running overnight or idle for a long time. [shakeroo]
actually I dont know, as for me I usually turn it off, but I also have some friends who likes to let their PC almost on everyday (22-23 hours a day), and I see no problems with their PC. [xcellen]
Why not simply turn the computer off entirely when it is not in use? It is good option for those who will be away from the computer through out the day, but letting it go to sleep is gentler on the monitor's components for on and off use. Computer consumes power when it is loaded. During hibernation( not switched off condition), it consumes power for indications that displays. However, hibernation is a good idea for families whose internate connection is continuously switched on, because it disconnects the connection, thereby shielding them from hackers. Most computers have the 'hibernate' option. To use it. look for a setting [in control panel] for power saving adjustment. [Ronimas]
I still think it's stupid to leave the computer on when you're not using it. Doing that indicates to me that you have not really understood the impact of the current climate crisis the earth is facing. In Denmark where I live the government is enforcing co2 emission laws, encouraging people to cut energy consumption and thereby cut co2 emission. As a result we've had a huge growth in the alternative energy sector over the last 15 years or so while cutting energy consumption. Exporting alternative energy know-how is now one of our big earners. There's a lot of focus on the climate changes here and the other day I heard on the news that the country with the largest co2 emission per capita is the US. Are you really not concerned with the environment over there? [pointyblue]
It definately saves electricity to shut it off - especially overnight. It can also be a fire hazard. Years ago my husband had to remove a monitor from his office which was on fire - it was a large old fashioned monitor (not a flat screen) so he always turns off his monitor even if he is leaving the computer running. [racheldarcy]
I don't have the exact idea about the difference, but I usually leave my laptop on for a long time, sometimes almost the whole day until I go to sleep. But some of my friends say it is better to turn it off when it is not used to stop the fan from turning round and getting too hot for the protection of the computer. What do you think? [williamjisir]
I usually turn off my pc whenever i am leaving or in a day i make sure it is off for at least two hours. Because i am not only concerned for the electric bill but also for fire hazard safety. I believe even machine need a rest. [a_ce_e]