Energy

Introduction
This module is useful for any computer having a monitor labeled Energy Star Compliant. (Energy Star Compliant equipment is equipment that can be configured to automatically enter a power saving mode when appropriate, without human intervention.)
Energy Star Compliance can be applied to nearly any electrical device. This module, however, does not spin down hard drives, does not shutdown printers, These settings only affect the behavior of your monitor.
For information on shutting down components on a laptop, do not use this module. Instead, refer to the module entitled Laptop Power Control Center, for details.
In the case of computer monitors, the computer can control the monitor, switching it between 4 states: On, Standby, Suspend, and Off.
The following lists of states is a generalization, and you may find that your monitor will differ from the descriptions below.
ON, is the normal operation of your monitor while you are using it.
STANDBY is usually a minor power saving level. This setting usually involves blanking the screen, and not firing the electron gun, but keeping the electron gun energized and ready to go. When you need to use the monitor again, the monitor will come back on very quickly.
SUSPEND mode, is a very low power alternative. With most monitors, the screen is blanked, the electron gun is shut down, and the magnets that control the electron gun are powered down. While the power saving is substantial, to reactivate the monitor may take up to 10-15 seconds. The computer should always be able to return the monitor to On or Standby while in suspend mode..
OFF, usually means just that. The computer monitor is turned off. This usually means that the computer will not be able to turn the monitor back on by itself. Obviously, this keeps power consumption to a bare minimum (zero).

Use
To use this module, is very simple:
If your monitor is Energy Star Compliant, then you should put a mark in the check box labeled Enable Display Energy Saving. This will activate the Energy saving commands.
The next three slider bars, tell the computer how many minutes of inactivity before automatically switching to a new state. These numbers can be adjusted with either the sliders, or the spin boxes.
These times are not additive, but all start counting at zero.
As an example:
If you set the Standby Mode to 10 minutes, the Suspend mode to 20 minutes, and the Power off at 30 minutes, and you stop using your computer at 9:00, then the monitor will:
Enter Standby mode at 9:10, enter Suspend mode at 9:20, and shut the power off at 9:30
When you are happy with the settings, click OK.

Section Author
Mike McBride mpmcbride7@yahoo.com