Why do people not shut down PC's?

[Zlain]

In an age where energy bills are going up, climate change is in the news every day, why aren't more people just shutting down their PC's when they aren't in use? These "stand by" or "hibernation" modes do exist, but why not just shut down if you don't plan to use your PC for a good few hours? I've yet to see any legitimate reason for home owners to not shut down their PC's and yet every day I see people make comments that they don't shut their PC down. Why? 

[cooky560 Veteran]

1. Improved performance as regularly used apps sit in memory for fast access.

2. reduced risk from damage due to mechanical stress

3. no waiting for boot up

4. people who use apps like irc or steam can leave them running 24/7 to stay in the loop and auto updated.

[firey]

In an age where energy bills are going up, climate change is in the news every day, why aren't more people just shutting down their PC's when they aren't in use? These "stand by" or "hibernation" modes do exist, but why not just shut down if you don't plan to use your PC for a good few hours? I've yet to see any legitimate reason for home owners to not shut down their PC's and yet every day I see people make comments that they don't shut their PC down. Why? 

1) Power consumption from electronic are going down

2) Only hippies give a ###### about the climate

3) Why wait for it to start back up.. I have a blown cap on my Mobo and it takes a solid 10 minutes for my PC to boot 

4) I leave my PC on 24/7 and it runs like a champ

5) Give me a good solid reason why I should shut down, taking into account points 1 - 3.

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

Because I can afford not to.  Simple honest answer.

[Arachno 1D]

If your so Green

Do you unplug all you appliances at night?

Do you leave the heating off in Winter at just wear more clothes?

Do you leave you air conditioning off during Summer at just live by nature alone?

[Lord Method Man]

I have no reason to. The only time I Shut Down a PC is when I'm going to disconnect it and move it somewhere or stop using it.

 

I use Sleep so I can be able to use my PC almost right away when I need to.

 

[tytytucke]

10-25 sec is to long to wait to boot to desktop imo, so I leave it up.

[Brian M. Veteran]

a. Desktops and laptops use virtually no energy when in sleep mode. 

b. They can wake themselves up to perform software updates, etc, without any interaction from me, and without disturbing me when I'm working.

c. If I need to remote in, I can WOL them. Can't do that if they're off.

 

Servers stay on 24/7 too.

[+Asmodai MVC]

Let's not forget that many maintenance tasks are typically scheduled to run overnight.  Windows Update checks for and installs new patches if available, system backups, full system virus scans, etc.  I sure as heck don't want these things to run when I'm using the computer but if I shut the system down when I'm done they will have to or they won't run at all.

[xpablo]

1) Power consumption from electronic are going down

2) Only hippies give a #### about the climate

3) Why wait for it to start back up.. I have a blown cap on my Mobo and it takes a solid 10 minutes for my PC to boot 

4) I leave my PC on 24/7 and it runs like a champ

5) Give me a good solid reason why I should shut down, taking into account points 1 - 3.

 

Precisely, the above are the exact reasons, besides when I'm at work I can access my pc remotely and

there have been times when I've needed to access my pc from work, for work purposes.

 

although there are times I shut it down, usually when I've gone away on a trip or holiday.

[Som]

In an age where energy bills are going up, climate change is in the news every day, why aren't more people just shutting down their PC's when they aren't in use? These "stand by" or "hibernation" modes do exist, but why not just shut down if you don't plan to use your PC for a good few hours? I've yet to see any legitimate reason for home owners to not shut down their PC's and yet every day I see people make comments that they don't shut their PC down. Why? 

one word ....

 

laaaaaaaaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

[Buttus]

i hate waiting for it to boot up...   that's pretty much it   (work and home)

[+virtorio MVC]

Sleep is more than sufficient in terms of energy use.

Additionally, Hibernation turns off the machine in the same way shutting it down does. 

 

I see zero advantages to shutting off the machine.

[Roger H. Veteran]

My laptop uses 0.1w during sleep. My TV uses 0.7w during sleep. Basically I did the math and all my "sleeping" devices total up to about 11watts* for the whole house.

 

11watts /1000  x $0.080683 x 24hrs = $0.021300312/DAY

 

So here let's break it down for the slow folks

 

11watts per hour x 24hrs = 264watts total for the day.

 

1Kilowatt costs $0.080683.

 

Total cost of 264 watts = $0.021300312.

 

 

That's freaking 2 CENTS per DAY

 

Yeah I think you can afford that just fine... lol

 

(someone correct my math if i'm wrong but I think i'm right :p)

 

 

* - This does not include stuff like fridge and server and other actively used devices, just devices that consume power during SLEEP mode which include:

 

LG 55" LCD, WDTV Box, Xbox360, Lenovo Thinkpad T410s, Sonicare Toothbrush, Microwave, Stove with electric display and various charging adapters.

[jamieakers]

Simple - it takes 25 minutes to get my work computer booted up and everything running.  My company simply cannot afford for me to lose over 2 hours a week waiting for a POS computer to boot!

 

Why they don't replace the computer for something faster is another issue for another day.

[Lord Method Man]

Sleep is more than sufficient in terms of energy use.

Additionally, Hibernation turns off the machine in the same way shutting it down does. 

 

I see zero advantages to shutting off the machine.

 

This. There is zero reason to do a full cold shutdown in this day and age unless you are putting the PC into long-term storage or something.

[+Warwagon MVC]

I don't even put my computer to sleep. I just shut the monitor(s) off.

[techbeck]

If I am not using my laptop for a while, or going on vaca, I will turn it off and unplug the power cord.  I have come back from vaca a few times and had fried components do to storms.

 

I turn my system on when I get home in the evening.  Normally 4pm-5pm.  When I go to bed around 11pm, I will turn it off since I do not turn it on in the morning (use my cell to check what I need online).

 

During the weekends or days off, I will turn it on in the morning and then just shut the lid to put it in sleep mode during the day.

[patseguin Global Moderator]

I shut down my PC every night for the simple reason of not wanting to see the blue glow in the next room lol. My iMac I leave on all the time. It's quiet and properly stays in sleep mode so I never shut it down. My PC never stays in sleep mode. Something just wakes it up again a minute or so after putting it to sleep.

[Andre S. Veteran]

I shut down all my computers at night, both at work and at home. My personal computer boots faster than the time it takes for my monitor to wake up from sleep, so it makes no difference. 

[+LogicalApex MVC]

Personal computers in my home are set to sleep when not in use for more than 15 minutes at a time. I find no reason to progress deeper than sleep since it draws so little power.

 

My servers are on 24/7, but that is the nature of the beast for those things.

 

In general, I think people just need to configure the device to sleep on periods of inactivity and then go from there. There isn't really a need to actively involve yourself in the power up and down cycle of the machine unless you have no other choice (such as system updates or needing to physically move the box).

 

 

I shut down all my computers at night, both at work and at home. My personal computer boots faster than the time it takes for my monitor to wake up from sleep, so it makes no difference. 

I'm not sure if I should be impressed at the fast boot up or the slow monitor power on cycle...

[Andre S. Veteran]

I'm not sure if I should be impressed at the fast boot up or the slow monitor power on cycle...

I'm impressed equally by both :D

[spaceelf]

I shut down all my computers at night, both at work and at home. My personal computer boots faster than the time it takes for my monitor to wake up from sleep, so it makes no difference. 

Same here, but it's my receiver that's acting like a dinosaur.  The PC and monitor take around 5 seconds to boot.

[webeagle12]

 

 

I'm not sure if I should be impressed at the fast boot up or the slow monitor power on cycle...

 

SSD  :D

[Jose_49]

I shut it down when I'm not using it... Actually Hibernate it. 

 

Every time I leave it on is either to download a couple of things, or to use it as an Alarm Clock. Win 8's alarm clock gets to wake up the neighbors ;)