I have always asked that computers be turned off to save energy and runtime
on both hard drives (although newer power management is better) and
especially power supply and processor cooling fans. We just retired a bunch
of 8-year old computers and most had squeaky fans (bad bearings). On Windows
systems I have also heard that a periodic shutdown is also recommended to
clear caches etc. and give the OS a "fresh start".

In either case with newer hardware I am not sure if "prolonging lifespan" is
really an issue - hard drives are cheap and I can't imagine that being ON
would prolong the life of any other components?

An interesting question!?!?

Eric Hall
Technology Coordinator
Waterbury/Duxbury Schools
Washington West Supervisory Union
Waterbury, VT


> Greetings,
> The Woodstock middle school is working to save energy.  One possibility
> that has been discussed is turning off computers at night.  Right now
> our systems person recommends that we leave them on overnight (see email
> below).  I'd like to know what other schools think is the best practice.
>  
> Thanks,
>  
> Patty Bick
> Librarian
> Woodstock UHS
> 
> ________________________________
> 
> From: Micky Corrow
> Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2006 8:59 AM
> To: Lynn Fisher; Nancy Pejouhy
> Cc: Alan Legacy; Greg Schillinger; Julian Underwood; Dana Peterson; Luis
> Bango; Patty Bick
> Subject: RE: 8th grade energy savings study
> 
> 
> This may not be a good idea.
>  
> The main reason for leaving computer CPU's on constantly is not to
> download updates, it is to preserve hardware. Downloading updates after
> hours is just another benefit of leaving them on.
>  
> The constant starting and stopping of moving components, such as a hard
> drive, contribute to its premature failure. Another factor to consider
> is the heating and cooling cycle of electronic components, it takes more
> energy to heat them up when starting them up cold than it does to leave
> them on and use them already up to temperature. The MTBF (Mean Time
> Between Failures) is measured very critically by hard drive
> manufacturers, and it has been determined that a drive will run longer
> when left on.
>  
> So the factor to measure here is the cost to leave equipment on
> (including data restoration) versus the cost to replace it when it fails
> prematurely. As you know, data stored on hard drives can be very
> valuable, far exceeding the cost of the actual hardware itself.
> Personally, I do not wish to 'experiment' with peoples data, it is far
> more expensive in the long run.
>  
> This is not to say that your study is invalid, nor is it an attempt to
> stop the flow if ideas and the knowledge obtained from them, it is a
> plea to try and prevent the loss of possibly critical data from our
> users computers. 
>  
> If you need a computer system to experiment with, I could possibly
> supply an older system that does not contain critical data. You could
> possibly then extrapolate data from that system studied over time.
>  
> Micky
>  
> 
> ________________________________
> 
> From: Lynn Fisher
> Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2006 8:23 AM
> To: Nancy Pejouhy
> Cc: Alan Legacy; Greg Schillinger; Julian Underwood; Dana Peterson; Luis
> Bango; Patty Bick; Micky Corrow
> Subject: 8th grade energy savings study
> 
> 
> Hey Nancy, great idea for the 8th grade to study energy use.  Since
> you're going to spend the time comparing electric bills, I have a
> suggestion for a modification:  I think we should experiment with
> shutting down computers completely overnight, instead of just logging
> off and turning off the monitors.  I think we should attempt to discover
> if the amount of money saved by doing this would make up for the
> convenience of the need for updates to be loaded over night.  If it's
> enough money, perhaps we could be convinced that there's another way to
> update computers without leaving them on overnight.
>  
> Am cc'ing this to the tech committee & admin in case I'm suggesting
> something that's too bogus.
>  
> Lynn
>  
> p.s. On another note, will the VCTM newsletter editor ever figure out
> how to spell your name?  You're the president for heaven's sake!  Want
> me to send a letter to the editor?  I don't have mine with me so don't
> know who to send email to, but I'd be happy to write one!!