Lower your utility bills using your computer

Ensuring your personal computers is turned off, or put into sleep mode, when not in use will save you between $50 and $75 on your utility bills per computer per year, according to the US Energy Department estimates. So the federal government has projected that for their own use, at an average savings of $50 per computer, applying this technique to the government’s 5.6 million desktops and laptops could generate up to $280 million in annual utility bill savings.

Although most computers do have a programmable feature, such as sleep or standby, that could power down a personal computer after it’s been inactive for an extended period, most consumers and companies do not use those options. And that translates into wasted energy and wasted dollars spent paying utility bills.

This practice works. For example, Miami Dade County Schools in Florida, which is the fourth largest school system in the country, began doing this in October 2007 and says it has and continues to expects to lower its electricity bill by about $2.1 million per year.

Just turn off your computer, or use sleep mode, for a simple way to experience savings on your utility bill.