Is it true that screen savers actually waste energy?
YES! A CRT (cathode ray tube, TV-style) monitor uses 73 watts when active (even with a blank screen saver) and a typical LCD (liquid crystal display) screen uses 40 watts when active. Both types use only 0-3 watts when asleep. Setting your monitor to go into sleep mode when you’re not using it could save from 100 to 600 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year depending on your computer usage habits. This equals a monetary saving of $8.50 to $51.00 per year per computer (at 8.5 cents per kWh). But money isn’t all you’re saving. Even more important, the more computers set to sleep mode, the greater the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from the power plants that generate our electricity.
