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How often do you turn off your iMac
- Thread starter DTMfan
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Never. Unless I have technical issues going on, I'll keep it running for as long as I'll keep my iMac.
That's what I do too. More green and reduces electricity bill. I would also think that it saves lifetime for the power supply unit of your iMac.
There's nothing detrimental as far as I know to turn it off (except 1 or 2 mins waiting to fire it up).
I follow the owners manual advice where it says:
Put Your iMac to Sleep
If you will be away from your iMac for less than a few days, put it to sleep. When your iMac is in sleep, its screen is dark. You can quickly wake your iMac and bypass the startup process.
I turn it off almost every night. I think I'll start to put it to sleep instead though, so I don't want to wait for boot up each morning.
Never under normal operations.
I do unplug external drives when not in use, 2x3TB, 2x1.5TB and 1x1TB, to save some Watts wasted by the power adapters.
I do unplug external drives when not in use, 2x3TB, 2x1.5TB and 1x1TB, to save some Watts wasted by the power adapters.
Yeah yeah why so many people just leave iMac on or sleep for loonngg loooong time.
How much does it consume when iMac in sleep mode? Does iMac boot that long so people just don't want to turn off their iMac, at least for night when they sleep and don't use the computer?
How much does it consume when iMac in sleep mode? Does iMac boot that long so people just don't want to turn off their iMac, at least for night when they sleep and don't use the computer?
Usually keep it on 24/7 and let it sleep when there is no activity. Restarts/power downs are perhaps once every two weeks or so, mainly for updates or a Time Machine bug.
According to Apple's Environmental Report, both the 21.5" and 27" use 1.25 to 1.36 Watts asleep; 0.34 to 0.48 Watts turned off.
Best solution would be to completely unplug it completely, but even in sleep mode, it is using a whole lot less power than any other devices/appliances that are plugged in (everything from cable boxes to speakers).
Now, you'd still want to monitor it sometimes so it actually does go to sleep. Some apps keep it awake, but even in idle mode (display off), they only use ~35-43 Watts.
According to Apple's Environmental Report, both the 21.5" and 27" use 1.25 to 1.36 Watts asleep; 0.34 to 0.48 Watts turned off.
Best solution would be to completely unplug it completely, but even in sleep mode, it is using a whole lot less power than any other devices/appliances that are plugged in (everything from cable boxes to speakers).
Now, you'd still want to monitor it sometimes so it actually does go to sleep. Some apps keep it awake, but even in idle mode (display off), they only use ~35-43 Watts.
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Back when I last had one (nearly 5 years ago! 
) I left it on virtually 24/7. Same with all my desktops now.
) I left it on virtually 24/7. Same with all my desktops now.Low consumption does not justify sleep/power on modes when devices are not used. There are millions of users out there, each person 1W more or less it makes huge difference. It is good that Apple is making the device "green", but having "green" user habits is what matters on a global level.
Once or twice a week. If i know im not going to be on it the next day i will turn it off at night and leave it off till i need it.
Apple recommend leaving it in sleep if it's going to be used again within a "few days". Common advice these days is that it actually uses less energy to sleep than it does to shut down/boot up. I have a feeling that this is a myth, but I've never got round to checking it out for sure.
My layman logic goes like this...
...So my imac consumes less energy if I shut it down (and turn off the plug) whenever I won't be using it for one hour or more.
Even if it took a whole minute to boot up and 30 seconds to shut down, it would still be the equivalent power consumption of only 3 hours sleeping, and I haven't even factored in an increased power consumption while waking up from sleep.
I admit, this is a very non-scientific presumption, but I think if anything, the figures that I've used have been generously weighted in sleep-mode's favour.
My layman logic goes like this...
- Shutting down/booting up: My imac shuts down in 10 seconds (at most) and boots up in 20 seconds (at most). Presuming a constant 150 watts during these times, the combined processes would consume 1.25 watt-hours.
- Sleeping for one hour: Presuming it uses only 1.25 watts during sleep. After one hour, it would consume exactly 1.25 watt-hours.
...So my imac consumes less energy if I shut it down (and turn off the plug) whenever I won't be using it for one hour or more.
Even if it took a whole minute to boot up and 30 seconds to shut down, it would still be the equivalent power consumption of only 3 hours sleeping, and I haven't even factored in an increased power consumption while waking up from sleep.
I admit, this is a very non-scientific presumption, but I think if anything, the figures that I've used have been generously weighted in sleep-mode's favour.
