Question: What make a "green" low energy PC?

[w_tom]

Not sure what you mean above. Can you explain?

Energy Star is not about low power. Energy Star is about
efficiency. How efficient must an appliance be? Formulas are based
on categories. For Australia, the categories are <= 1 watt; 1 to 49;
and >49 watts. The voluntary Energy Star defined <=1 watt, 1 to 51
watts, and >51 watts. As wattage increases, energy efficiency (by
percent) must also increase. Therefore a larger appliance puts a
higher percentage of energy into productive work. Its not difficult.
But it requires engineering - using new and available designs. What
makes this new technology difficult are cost controllers who see
innovation only as increased costs. One example was assemblers who
only understand 'watts and dollars'.

Energy Star does not mean low power or consumer application. Energy
Star is about efficiency. Any appliance can meet Energy Star
requirements. Those same standards are mandatory in CA, AZ, OR, MA,
RI, VT, and WA as well as other places such as China.

Some computers have a BIOS timer that can boot at a preset time.
That timer can wake up computer minutes before recording time.

 

[me]

The first thing to do, would be to work out what it
costs to run a device, 24/7. But to do that, you need
to know exactly what it is using.

To start, purchase a Kill-a-Watt meter. This will allow

Paul.... where did you by your Kill a watt and does it
work well?

Do you consider it a must have "tool"?

 

[Paul]

Paul.... where did you by your Kill a watt and does it
work well?

Do you consider it a must have "tool"?

If you checked the Amazon link, there is a Kill-a-Watt there
that is pretty cheap.

The gadget I have, is a clamp-on AC/DC ammeter. I use it inside the
PC, and also for other odds and ends. For example, last year,
the starter on my car started to act up, and I was checking the
current draw on that. When it got cold, the starter motor was
drawing 150 amps. Eventually, it stopped turning over in cold
weather.

Since the clamp-on ammeter is a non-contact meter, I can work on
stuff like that, without any current flowing through the
instrument - it senses the magnetic field around the wire.

I've also used it on my central air conditioner, that runs
on 220VAC. The fan that blows the air, is drawing twice the
rated current, and I have to lubricate the motor much more
frequently, to keep it running quietly. (I wasn't able to
find the right replacement for it, as the proper replacement
is no longer made. So I live with it.)

In the picture here, the jaws open on the end, and go around
the wire to measure. It has a Hall probe inside, and that is
how it can measure an AC or DC magnetic field, and figure out
the current flow.

http://exphil.com/images/products/Extech/380947.jpg

The Kill-a-Watt meter, is for saving money on A.C. electricity.
If you want to know how much power your gear uses, that is
the meter to use. If you have a wasteful appliance, or a wall
wart that wastes power, it is simple to check them. But that is
its only function, so it is a specialized gadget. Whatever you
measure, has to have an AC power cord on it, to plug into
the meter.

The clamp-on ammeter can work on a bit more stuff. For example,
if you were running a PC repair business, in about a minute,
you'd be able to precisely tell a customer whether their power
supply was big enough or not, using the clamp-on ammeter to measure
all the DC rails in the PC. The only constraint, is the need to
put the jaws around the wire to be measured. (I made an AC
line cord, where the white, black, and green safety wires
are separated, and that is how I measure AC appliance currents.
But I cannot measure the power factor, while the Kill-a-Watt
can, if you get the right one. The power factor is the phase
angle between voltage and current, and sometimes you need to
know that when buying a UPS or uninterruptible power supply.)

Paul