Do you leave your comp?

C&K*s Mommie wrote: Do you leave the computer on all the time, even in stand-by mode?? If so, does it have an effect on your electric bill??

The reason I ask is that ours is on a good portion of the day, if I am not on it, Christian is, then Chris is when he gets home. Our electric bill yesterday with this computer and all the clothes washing I have done in the two months has not caused our bill to skyrocket. This got me to thinking that leaving it on all the time, will not affect the electricity bill much.

What about you, if yours is on most/all day?

ETA: When I proofread the post for errors, I almost always fail to re-read the topic title.... It does not make sense the way it reads now.

mckayleesmom replied: Ours is on all day...I usually stay logged in to everything , but at night I turn it off most of the time.

CAMSMOM1 replied: Mine is on all morning and I shut it off before I go to work. Then it's on most of the night until I get off.

Is that bad to keep your computer on that long?


OH, and I think it effected our power bill. It was double what it used to be, and I think the computer has a big part to play in it. Because ours is hooked up to a huge power plug in the garage, so when I turn the computer on, it turns other things on as well. (If that makes sense?)

kayla's mama replied: We keep our on 24/7. the only time we shut it down is during a storm or if we go out of town. I have not noticed an increase in our bill though.

mom21kid2dogs replied: We leave ours on (in standby mode) all day every day.

salmndr007 replied: Well, the computer being on won't really affect your electric bill. The washing on the other hand will cause it to go through the roof. I think that if you turn your computer off and on all the time, the surge of power needed to start your computer is actually more than the amount of power it takes to keep it running. The same way in a business with the large halogen lights. It actually takes about $5 to turn them back on once you turn them off whereas it may only take pennies to leave them running all day long. That is why most businesses don't turn their lights off when they are closed for the day. Running the dryer is what takes most of the energy, especially if you use the Tide cold water (the best thing I have found to save energy). This means that you are not using any energy to keep generating hot water. Sorry if I over explained this.

coasterqueen replied: All of our computers are on standby 24/7.

C&K*s Mommie replied: Nope, Sal I understand. Thanks for the information. I only use hot water to wash the linens once a week. But that is good info to know about the dryer.

I will start leaving the comp on, although it is a habit to turn it off.

luvmykids replied: I only actually turn it off when I'm trying to get the house cleaned. Doesn't seem to help, I just turn it right back on!

MommyToAshley replied: It's actually bad for your hard drive to turn your computer on and off often. If you are going to be gone for a few days, then I'd turn it off. But, if you use it every day, I'd leave it on. The thing that costs the most electricity is the monitor. That's why I recommend going to a LCD screen if you don't have one... they're very energy efficient.

We don't see much of an increase in our electric bill and we have at least 4 computers on at all times (for work). We see more of an increase in the summer because the AC is always running to keep the computer room cool.

3xsthefun replied: Our computer is on all day and turn it off before we go to bed. If we plan on being gone half a day or all day the computer is off. We also turn it off we are having a bad thunderstorm.

C&K*s Mommie replied:
The things you learn everyday!!

We have a flat screen, not sure if that is the same as an LCD screen. But I did not know that about the hard drive.

~Roo'sMama~ replied: Ours is on all day... I'm on it off and on so it would be a big hassle to have to keep turning it on. We shut it off some nights, but some nights Dh leaves it on so that Norton anti-virus will run... it's set to run at 5am.

I don't think it really affects the electric bill much. I have friend who use to have all of his computers (he had 3 running 24/7) on a separate meter from the rest of the house, and they didn't use much at all.

My2Beauties replied: We don't use ours at home that much so it stays off unless we are on it, but with DH's new job he checks the board at work often to try and see when he may get called in, so I might start leaving it on. I had a friend whose mom was an atty and she used her computer often, so she kept it on standby mode and I asked her why one time and she said it's better on the harddrive, so I knew that but I just have a habit of turning mine off now when I do use it since it's not quite that often, but I may start doing that! Thanks Dee Dee for reminding me of that

Insanemomof3 replied: Our computers are on 24/7. You know how light bulbs burn out almost always right when you flip the light on? The same thing can happen with a computer. It could fry as it is booted up. (That is the only way I know to explain it.) If you use it everyday, it is best to leave it on....if you don't, it is not bad to turn it off. Turning it off and on all the time is not good though...According to my hubby...he has a bach degree in Computer engineering and programming. HTH

gr33n3y3z replied: Rick turns his off in the living room at night but he also has 8 fans in his and its loud Plus It glows blue. This one that I'm on now stays on all night and I'm not sure what Ed does with his lap top I try not and touch that. lol

ammommy replied:
Me, too!

MamaJAM replied: Our computers are on all the time. They take such a small amount of power to run - that it doesn't make sense turning them off and on constantly. Every once in a while we turn them off or reboot -- but that's very rare.

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
ditto here. It takes less energy to just leave it on than it does to get it to load up when you turn it on.

Same goes for Heating - leaving it at one steady temp costs less than playing with the daily temp - ie: lowering the temp in the afternoon and raising it at night etc...