Green Living: Fact vs. Fiction

By Deborah Jian Lee, AP Energy Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — You're a savvy consumer and you know how to cut corners when it comes to energy. You've given your dishwasher a rest and picked up a soapy sponge again. You even make sure never to fill your gas tank more than halfway because you get more miles to the gallon.

Or wait, is it the other way around? Is it better to leave the computer on all day or shut it off when not in use? Does my refrigerator use less energy when it's empty or full?

We spoke with people in the know at the Department of Energy, Edison Electric Institute, AAA and General Electric Co. to find out once and for all what is fact and what is fiction when it comes to powering down.

COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS

Screen savers save energy.

FICTION — Those hypnotizing screen savers give the illusion that your computer is on some energy-saving standby mode, but in reality, electricity is still pumping to keep your computer and monitor running. In fact, screen savers may even prevent the operation of your computer's power-down feature - which actually will cut down on energy use. Screen savers may even use more energy than a basic blank screen.

Your computer stops using energy when it's in sleep mode.

FICTION — Computers still use energy when in sleep mode. However, the electricity drawn in sleep mode is about 70% less that what is used when a computer is awake.

You waste more energy restarting a computer repeatedly than letting it run all day.

FICTION — Even though a small surge of energy is required to start up a computer, this amount is less than the energy consumed when a computer runs for long periods of time. If you plan to leave your computer for 20 minutes, trim some costs by switching off the monitor. For an absence longer than 2 hours, shut it down!