Hi there,
As IT manager for an SME, I get asked a lot if users are allowed to turn their PC's off at night, to save electricity, from an environmental point of view.
What troubles me, (aside from the known fact that PC's have more chance of breakdown if they get turned on and off all the time) is that when you turn a PC on, the fans start up faster than normal, the PC bleeps, lights come on, and the hard drive gets a hammering as the OS loads.
I would very much like to know if turning computers on and off daily, actually saves electricity. I am inclined to say that if the monitor is turned off, and the PC is on hibernate mode, that it takes LESS power overall to leave the PC's on, and also decreases the chance of hardware failure in the long term.
Does anyone know if there's any proof/experiments on this subject?
Many thanks,
Paul