This is ridiclous
this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2024
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Maybe, but desktop computers use about 5w when asleep, and 0w when off. I've measured this with a Kill-a-Watt power meter. 5w may be negligible to the individual, but when you multiply that by the billions of desktops all around the world, 5w isn't so negligible anymore. Please just turn your computer off at the end of the day.
The Mac mini draws 5 W when on, and 0.5W when sleeping
Is the 5 watts on an M series Mac?
This is short-sighted. The amount of extra power the computer draws at a high power state while performing boot-up tasks makes the sleep power draw a better option. Not to mention the sleep power draw happens at off-peak hours where the grid can provide more green power vs. the dirty mid-morning peak power. The break-even point that I’ve calculated across the machines I’ve plugged into my meter is approximately 3-4 days. With a big ol’ “it depends” sticker slapped on top.
Edit: and my lazy methodology doesn’t even account for the extra energy used by the machine throughout the day when it has to cold-start various programs and tasks without any caches.
Double-edit: if you want to go the extra mile you can use the “hibernate” feature of windows after force-enabling it or the “pmset sleepmode {whateverthefuckitis} “ of macOS to split the difference. Or you can take a shower that’s literally 10 seconds shorter because heating shower water for literally only 10 seconds will use more power than any of these things. I strongly implore you to calculate your trip to the grocery store in kilowatt/hrs as well. Optimize where it matters!