Do screen savers reduce energy use?

A: Indeed it is. Screen savers are used to help protect the computer screen, not to reduce its energy use. Earlier models of computers were prone to damage to the screen phosphors when the monitor was left on too long and the image on the screen didn’t change. While the problem isn’t nearly as severe with newer models, people still often use screen savers to offer some protection (as well as entertainment).

But these screen savers are only designed to protect the computer screen, not to save anything else like energy. It’s more likely that using a screen saver will end up consuming more rather than less energy.

You can get around this problem by setting the energy-saving mode on your computer to automatically shut off the monitor when the computer hasn’t been used for 10 minutes, for example. Because monitors typically use much more energy than computers do, there are potentially big savings from using the energy-saving features of your computer itself.

You can also consider buying a power strip or other energy-saving product that will turn off computers and peripherals if they’re not used for a certain period of time.

You also should get in the habit of turning off your computer at the end of the workday or other times when it is not being used. If you don’t need it on at night to send or receive emails or do some other tasks at that time, turn it off. I’ve been involved in some projects recently on implementing energy-saving programs for schools, and it is absolutely incredible how many schools leave all of their computers on all night long even though no one will be using them until the next day. The wasted energy from this is simply staggering.

Ken Sheinkopf is a communications specialist with the American Solar Energy Society ( www.ases.org). Send your energy questions to askken@ases.org.