Do you turn off the lights when you leave the room? The air conditioner when you're not using it? Or the TV when you're not watching it?
Turning off unused appliances saves you money and you could save even more with just one more switch: your computer switch.
Brett Agostini enjoys the luxury of wireless internet on his porch in Scranton. He says he always thought it was bad for the computer to turn it on and off.
"We were always told by my company that it put a lot of wear and tear on the computer to turn it off and on and off and on and it was better for the computer to leave it on," Agostini says.
[cg :-power to save\dickson city\ Lackawanna County]
Christopher Wagner works as an EasyTech Advisor at Staples in Dickson City.
He suggests shutting down your computer when you go to bed or when you're going to be away from it for at least ten hours.
If you're only leaving for a short time, he says you can use the standby mode for the computer but turn off the monitor.
"Standby always uses a little bit of electricity, it's always on, so its ready to turn on real fast. Where turning it off, completely cuts the power off," Wagner explains.
EasyTech Advisors at Staples say if your anti-virus software is scheduled to update overnight and your computer is turned off, it won't. When you turn your computer back on it will eventually find the software and update.
"A lot of the computers we sell today are much more energy efficient, even the printer and the routers we sell, the surge protectors...." Wagner says.
One surge protector at Staples has a master outlet. When the appliance plugged into the master slot is turned off up to four other appliances plugged into the surge protector will shut off automatically.
Frank Larkin of Scranton is preparing for vacation and says he's prepared to turn his computer off while he's away.
"Because I know that it's using electricity when it's on. If it's not being used turn it off," Larkin says.
Turning off unused appliances saves you money and you could save even more with just one more switch: your computer switch.
Brett Agostini enjoys the luxury of wireless internet on his porch in Scranton. He says he always thought it was bad for the computer to turn it on and off.
"We were always told by my company that it put a lot of wear and tear on the computer to turn it off and on and off and on and it was better for the computer to leave it on," Agostini says.
[cg :-power to save\dickson city\ Lackawanna County]
Christopher Wagner works as an EasyTech Advisor at Staples in Dickson City.
He suggests shutting down your computer when you go to bed or when you're going to be away from it for at least ten hours.
If you're only leaving for a short time, he says you can use the standby mode for the computer but turn off the monitor.
"Standby always uses a little bit of electricity, it's always on, so its ready to turn on real fast. Where turning it off, completely cuts the power off," Wagner explains.
EasyTech Advisors at Staples say if your anti-virus software is scheduled to update overnight and your computer is turned off, it won't. When you turn your computer back on it will eventually find the software and update.
"A lot of the computers we sell today are much more energy efficient, even the printer and the routers we sell, the surge protectors...." Wagner says.
One surge protector at Staples has a master outlet. When the appliance plugged into the master slot is turned off up to four other appliances plugged into the surge protector will shut off automatically.
Frank Larkin of Scranton is preparing for vacation and says he's prepared to turn his computer off while he's away.
"Because I know that it's using electricity when it's on. If it's not being used turn it off," Larkin says.
