Opinion: Turn off

That’s all well and good but unless you only use a laptop, it’s very likely that your PC has a good number of other jangly bits consuming power nearby. For starters there’s the monitor, and probably the ADSL modem, some speakers, the printer, the USB hub and the add-on disk storage.

Maybe you want to leave the ADSL modem running – it might be providing WiFi for other PCs around the place, but those other toys could do with a proper rest when they’re not being used, along with your PC. While you’re looking for things that could do with being switched off at the wall, take a look at the TV/stereo/VCR/PVR/Foxtel kit in the lounge room.

All those toys, except maybe the gadget that records stuff, ought to have the plug yanked when you’re not using them.

This is all very well in theory, but who wants to reach under the desk or behind the TV or crawl behind the lounge to throw the switch? And even worse, who wants to do that in the dark when you want to turn them all back on again?

There’s gotta be an easier way, and of course there is. What you need is a “remote power switch”. This gadget plugs into the wall socket, then you plug your power board into it, and you can then turn the whole thing on and off using a wireless remote control.

Local outfit Arlec Pty Ltd makes one of these, which comes as a pack of three wall sockets, with a remote control, and they cost less than $40 from the local hardware store, or search on eBay for “remote power switch”. That gives you one for the PC and its toys, one for the TV/stereo stack and one for the TV or PC in the kids room.

Maybe you’d better get two packs of these things. But do they save you any carbon? Well, after we installed one at home, the quarterly electric bill dropped by $60. So the ROI was less than three months. Gotta be happy about that.