How to reduce the energy consumed by my PC, smartphone and tablet?

We can't do without them - desktops, laptops and tablets are with us everywhere we go. But they also consume energy and therefore have an impact on the environment. If you use them correctly, you can also reduce your electricity bill.

And when it comes to the environment, it's a good thing to keep your devices for longer because it saves on the resources and energy used for their production.

Find out some tips and tricks every multimedia device user should now.

Buying cleverly will reduce your ICT consumption

In general

Don’t duplicate devices unnecessarily.
Where possible, extend the life of your devices instead of replacing them. You can, for example, buy a new battery for your smartphone or equip your PC with additional central memory or a second hard disk.
Put off renewing your computer equipment as long as possible. Give your old appliances a second life by giving them to charity for example!

PC: desktop or laptop?

Choose a laptop rather than a desktop computer. A laptop requires 75% less material for its manufacture and consumes 70% less energy when in use: 55 kWh/year (about € 10) instead of 200 kWh (about € 40).

Laptop, tablet or e-reader?

Choose the right device for what you want to do. Do you only use the internet to browse websites or process your emails? Go for a tablet. Do you want to read e-books? Buy an e-reader: consumption is tiny.

Peripherals: screens, scanners, routers, printers

Go for peripherals that are energy efficient (they have labels indicating this), USB-connectable rather than wireless (no need to recharge them) and multifunctional (printer-scanner-copier-fax-phone).
Only print when it's really necessary.

Adopt good practices!

Tablet

Use your tablet instead of your PC whenever possible.

Tablet and laptop:

Extend the lifespan of lithium-ion batteries by not letting them discharge completely. But don't leave them fully charged if you aren't using the unit for a week or more, either. It’s best to leave an unused Li-ion battery at 70% charge.
Use energy saving features and put your PCs and tablets into standby mode automatically.

WiFi router and Bluetooth devices

Turn off your wifi router and Bluetooth links when you don't need them. Do the same with any other device.
Wireless technologies (wifi or 4G) and online storage (the "cloud") require much more energy than cable networks. Connect your PC by cable (Ethernet) whenever possible.

Screen

Set the brightness of your screen LCD as low as possible (you can save as much as 40%).
Delete screensavers which create random patterns on your screen when your PC is idle. They were designed to protect cathode-ray screens from local wear and no longer serve any purpose with LCD screens.

Did you know?

Some smartphones can consume more electricity than a refrigerator, as they don't just consume the electricity needed for their operation. Surfing the internet as well as downloading content involve activating routers and servers, transferring and storing data, and all of this consumes electricity.
Operating problems lead to waste. Smartphones are often affected by a multitude of applications running in the background, sometimes without our knowledge, which drain their batteries much more quickly.
Currently, ICT (Information and Communication Technology) uses up no fewer than 1,500 tWh (terawatt hours) per year, or 10% of world electricity production.