Green shedworking

The Energy Saving Trust has just produced a report called The Ampere Strikes Back (arf, arf) which has some pertinent comments for shedworkers and homeworkers. You can download the whole report here but essentially their advice to homeworkers is don't leave your computer in idle mode unnecessarily and make sure you have the most energy-efficient sleep mode settings. And if you're going to buy a new computer (and if so, I'd recommend the lovely MacBook Pro) their recommendations are:

- Buy a laptop rather than a desktop if
possible. On average laptops consume
70 per cent less energy than desktops.
- Look out for Energy Star labelled devices.
Buying the most efficient Energy Star
equipment could save as much as £100-£150
in energy over the lifetime of a PC and
printer63 compared to standard non Energy
Star machines. Energy Star64 labelled
computers will help customers identify
efficient computer products and retailers
should also be able to advise.65
- Buy an energy saving mains controller – this
is a device that automatically switches off
peripherals when the computer is switched off.