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Results for: how to save electricity

August 13, 2011

Desktop PC vs. Laptop Power Consumption

I remember there was a time when the electric bill in my pad went over Php14k, almost double the usual amount I pay on regular months. We use a lot of electrical devices, including 2 desktop PCs and a number of laptops so I thought of doing a simple experiment.

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Personal Computing
May 31, 2010

Joulemeter Computes PC Power Consumption

Wonder how much power/electricity does your laptop or computer consume per hour? Microsoft has this nifty application that does just that — it’s called the Joulemeter.

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Freewares, Microsoft
April 12, 2010

Power Saver Max on Power Usage

Over a year ago, I blogged about this little power-saving device which promises to lower electricity usage in the household. I thought it would be wise to look at all the data points and review the performance of the device.

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Tech Toys & Gadgets
July 19, 2008

Popcorn Hour Media Player

This could probably be the last media player you’ll ever need in your living room.The Popcorn Hour is an integrated video processor tucked inside a small portable casing that plays almost all of the popular media files out there, plus some more. It’s like the open source version of the Apple TV.

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Tech Toys & Gadgets
April 06, 2007

Do you turn off your PC at night?

An article over at Microsoft Small Business Center asks: Do you need to turn off your PC at night?.

More often than not I leave my desktop PC on overnight. I only turn them off if I will be away for a day or more. Most of the time, it’s running Limewire, iTunes or some torrents but sometimes I just leave it there with nothing to do. I just turn off the monitor/LCD to save on electricity. I do this primarily because there are cases when I need to login or use the PC so quickly, it’s easy to just turn on the LCD/monitor than to wait 2-3 minutes for Windows to boot up.

The article discusses the use of sleep or hibernate instead of turning it off or pulling the plug. An unplugged PC still consumes 2.3 watts (because of LAN) and uses the same power during hibernate while on “sleep” mode, it eats up 3.1 watts. Regular monitors consume 75 watts when left on, 5 watts in “sleep” mode while LCD monitors eats up 22 watts when turned on and 3.3 watts in sleep mode.

These might be small figures but if you add them up in a year (365 days), you could save up to thousands of pesos (depending where you are or how much your power rate is).

So, do you also leave your PC on at night?

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Personal Computing
November 30, 2006

How to be tech-ready for a typhoon like Reming?

When the last typhoon Milenyo hit the entire Luzon grid, most people were caught unaware and since the devastation was beyond normal, a lot of people were affected. If you’re running a business like mine which has no borders, you’d end up with a huge problem supporting your clients who didn’t suffer your same fate (read: no electricity, phone lines, mobile networks or internet connection).

The same goes with bloggers and other techies who rely most of their day-to-day work on uninterrupted connectivity and power. Just ask this problogger how she survived Milenyo’s aftermath in Bicol.

So, what have we tech-geeks learned and what to do to prepare for the upcoming typhoon Reming?

  • Fully charge all rechargable batteries — laptops, digital cameras, iPods, cellphones, flashlights, etc.
  • Get spare batteries if you can. Spare batteries can last you longer — the more, the better.
  • If you have a UPS (uninterruptible power supply), it could also be used to re-charge you gadgets later on when the power is already out. Some UPS have around 30 minutes to an hour backup power. You can recharge all your gadgets at the same time with that limited supply.
  • If you have a car, get a power inverter or an Ac adaptor. This will save you a lot of pain, though it will be expensive on gasoline.
  • Buy a small battery-powered electric fan. Believe me, you’ll need this one if you’re used to your airconditioned room.
  • Minimize usage of your gadgets — common sense.
  • Plan things ahead. Say you can connect to the net via your mobile phone hooked to your laptop, note down things you need to do first before powering up.
  • Re-acquaint yourself with the pen and paper. You can write down your blog entries and then type them really fast later when you’ve powered up.
  • If it’s not necessary, don’t. Stay away from Youtube, iTunes or Limewire for the meantime.
  • Do an advanced reservation for room in one of the cheapest hotels around (just in case). Make sure they have internet available in the rooms. The last time, Manila hotels had 100% occupancy during the Milenyo week-end.
  • Get your cameras and videocams ready. It’s pretty cool taking pictures/videos during and right after the storm.

Alternatively, you can grab a book and enjoy the peace and quite.

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Daily Dose