Ever since the EPA launched the Energy Star Labels back in 1992, green computing and green IT have been a buzzword which has had its fair share of fans and haters. While some say that green computers are not powerful enough to be classed as real computers, other have successfully changed to green computers.

There are a variety of ways in which you can improve the energy efficiency of your computer which we will cover below. Even if you make a few changes which only save a small percentage of the energy use, these will soon add up and over several years can make a huge difference.

1) Using better coding and algorithms. By making sure that any programs that you use are coded to be as efficient as possible you can save the programs putting extra strain on the computer and therefore reduce the amount of energy that they use. Any software should make correct use of caching and ensuring that all the code has been written in a logical way, using the smallest amount of code possible.

2) Virtual Computers. It is possible for you to use several monitors and input devices with a single computer to give the appearance of multiple separate computers, however you only have to power one single computer. This is often referred to as multi point computing.

3) Terminal Services. Similar to virtual computers, you simply use a thin client as your main machine and then connect to low power servers which performs all of the processing required. This can dramatically reduce the amount of power required.

4) Proper use of power management features. This allows your computer to spin down the hard drives when not being used and put itself into sleep mode if you havenot used the computer for a while. The newer versions of windows have a vastly improved power management feature.