Saving Money with Linux: Getting Started

You’ve probably made significant reductions in the consumption of electricity already. But given that prices are forecast to continue to rise, it’s important to evaluate all electrical appliances to see what savings can be made. This series looks at ways to reduce your electricity consumption from computers and associated devices. While the series focuses on Linux, much of the material applies to whatever operating system you are running.

Before working out ways to reduce energy consumption from a computer and associated devices, we first need to identify current usage. Don’t be bamboozled by sites that use expensive multimeters. While they can measure standby power consumption over time with their high precision, you don’t need expensive kit. All that’s needed is a good quality power meter plug.