Campus Involvement

Green Living

Green Computing Tips

Bowdoin College recognizes the need for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Energy consumption and electrical usage all contribute to these harmful emissions.

You can help reduce greenhouse emissions by following a few simple steps in enabling power management features on your computer.

Power Management allows monitors and computers to reduce power usage during periods of idleness. As a result, the monitor screen turns black, the CPU reduces power, and the hard disk slows down its spinning. This is called "sleep" or "idle" mode. Enabling power management settings decreases the amount of wasted energy we spend.

Power management instructions for Windows XP

Standby or Hibernate? If you don't want to completely turn off your computer, you can set it on "standby" or "hibernate" mode.

Standby Mode: In standby mode, your computer reduces the amount of power it uses, conserving energy. Standby still keeps opened files and applications, making it easy to return to your computer. This is best when you plan to leave your computer on for short periods of time.

Hibernation
sleeping polar bear
Polar bears do not hibernate in the true sense of the word (Polar Bear FAQ), but your computer can - and that can be good for you and good for Bowdoin

To put your computer in Standby mode:

  1. Click on the "Start" menu.
  2. Click on "Turn off computer."
  3. Choose "Standby Mode" from the pull down menu.
  4. Click "OK."

Hibernate Mode: In hibernate mode the computer is almost entirely turned off. It saves an image of what you're working on to a special file on the hard drive. This is best used when you plan to leave your computer on for a period of days or hours.

To set your computer on hibernate:

  1. Click on the "Start" menu.
  2. Click on "Turn off computer."
  3. Choose "Hibernate" from the pull down menu.
  4. Click "OK."

Changing your Default Power Settings

You can adjust the default power management settings by going to your computer's Control Panel or System Preferences. There you can set and view the power schemes, hibernation, power meter and alarms to work for you automatically.

Windows XP
1. Click on the "Start menu."
2. Click on "Control Panel."
3. Click on "Performance and Maintenance."
4. Click on "Power Options."
Windows 2000
1. Click on the "Start Menu."
2. Click on "Settings."
3. Click on "Control Panel."
4. Click on "Display."
5. Click the "Screen Saver tab."
6. Click the "Power" button in the Energy Saving Feature of Monitor
7. Under "Power Scheme," select "Home/Office Desk."
8. Adjust the options accordingly to what you want
Macintosh OS X "Panther" ( 10.3.5 and below)
1. Go to the "Apple Menu." apple menu
2. Click on "System Preferences."
3. Click "Show All."
4. Select "Energy Saver." energy saver
5. Click on "Show Details."
6. From the "Settings For" pull down menu, select "Power Adapter"
7. Select "Put the Display to Sleep When the Computer is Inactive For"
8. Set the slider to the number of minutes you want.
Macintosh OS X "Tiger" (10.4 and above)
1. Go to the "Apple Menu." apple menu
Energy Saver Control Panel - Tiger OSX2. Click on "System Preferences."
3. Click "Show All."
4. Select "Energy Saver." energy saver
5. Set the slider in the Sleep option to the number of minutes you want.

Computer Myths and Facts

Myth #1

Turning off my computer is bad for my computer

Fact: The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory states that modern hard disks are not affected by frequent shut-downs and that equipment may actually last longer because mechanical wear and heat stress are reduced.

Action: Turn off your computer at night

Security Benefit: When you turn your computer off you decrease the risk of someone accessing your files or e-mail.

Myth #2

Computers don't really need a lot of power if they are on but not used

Fact: During heavy usage (e.g. when you open a new application) your computer draws only slightly more power. The average computer uses about 120 Watts (75 Watts for the screen and 45 Watts for the CPU) whether you're using it or not.

Action: Turn off your computer if you are not using it for several hours

And: One computer left on 24 hours a day will cost you $115 in electricity bills a year and dumps 1,500 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere. Plus, a tree absorbs between 3-15 lbs of CO2 each year. That means that 100-500 trees would be needed to offset the yearly emissions of one computer left on all the time.

Myth #3

Screen savers save

Fact: Despite the name, screen savers don't save anything, especially not power

Action: Turn off your monitor if you are not using your computer for more than 15 minutes

Security Benefit: When you turn your computer off you decrease the risk of someone accessing your files or e-mail.