Whether you work in the office all day or take your laptop with you to work out in the field, it is tempting to avoid shutting your computer off at the end of the day. Going through the start-up process takes a bit more time than awakening it from sleep mode and sometimes it seems every second counts while on the job. How often should you perform a computer restart?
While it certainly is true it does take a bit more time to power up your computer equipment each day, there are good reasons for doing so. Just one average computer (including a monitor) uses approximately 350 watts or .35kW. Of course electrical rates fluctuate, but if a utility company charges 11 cents per kWh, just operating one computer 24 hours a day for a month costs over $25.
There are also wear and tear considerations for some of the internal parts of your PC. Although they do not have to work as hard if your computer is in sleep mode, the cooling fans for your CPU and power supply wear out faster required to constantly monitor your PC to avoid a situation where they could overheat. In addition, although solid state hard drives are becoming more and more popular, traditional hard drives still spin when not in use.
Lastly, those who rarely turn off their computer increase the likelihood of computer freezes, operating system lags or crashes since their memory systems never get a chance to clear out. Shutting down your computer every day and restarting the next morning, gives your computer a chance to flush out its memory, stops all processes and allows it to start with a clean slate.
For more information on properly maintaining your computer equipment, please contact us.
