We all can be part of the solution. Digital downloads are the 'green' answer to demanding fewer resources for your computer's needs. What you get is software with an environmental footprint of zero while still staying up-to-date.
Digital downloads are one part of the larger trend in making our lives - both professional and personal - cleaner, more efficient, and better. Continue reading to see what else you can do to improve your green computing.
Limit screen-saver use. A screen saver does not save energy. In fact, more often than not, a screen saver not only will draw power for the monitor, but also will keep the CPU from shutting down. Instead, set your computer to turn off the monitor first, then go into standby mode after a longer period of inactivity.
Disconnect your Virtual Private Network (VPN) when not actively using your corporate network. Being connected may limit your system's ability to enter standby mode.
Many popular computer games and other third party software packages that run in the background will not allow the computer to go to sleep - even if they are paused or the active window is minimized.
Some web sites or pages that have active banners and or animated advertisements will not allow the computer to sleep on its own and must be closed, or the computer put manually into a sleep state.
Enabled power management to place your monitor, hard drives and computer into a low-power 'sleep' mode after a period of inactivity.
Monitor/display sleep: Turn off after 15 minutes or less
Turn off hard drives/hard disk sleep: 15 minutes or less
System standby/sleep: After 30 minutes or less
Advanced users may wish to establish multiple power schemes to address different usage models. For example, you can create a power scheme for playing music CDs that shuts off your hard drive and monitor immediately, but never puts your system into standby mode.
To further reduce power consumption, turn off computing and peripheral devices that are not being used or being used for an extended period of time such as overnight.
Plug all your electronics into one surge protector, so you can easily switch them all off when you leave the room or go to sleep. Most power supplies (such as your cell phone charger) continue to draw power and generate heat even when not attached to a device.