Zero-Power Optical Disc Drive is part of the SATA 6GB/s specification (to be precise SATA revision 3.1). To support the new power saving feature of the latest SATA revision, the computer system and operating system need to support it. If your computer does not support Sata 6GB/s connections you cannot make use of the power saving feature.

Zero-Power ODD is enabled by default in the Windows 8 operating system. Windows 8 will recognize compatible drives automatically and use the feature to save power. This basically means that the optical drive does not need power at all if it is idle.

While unlikely you may encounter situations where the new feature acts up, or where you under no circumstances want to save power using that feature.

Windows 8 comes with an option to disable Zero-Power ODD. In the developer preview edition you need to change the value of a Registry key for that.

Open the Windows Registry editor first. You need to bring up the run box with the shortcut Windows-r, type in regedit and hit enter. This displays a prompt for elevation which you need to accept.

Navigate to the Registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\cdrom\parameters\ and locate the parameter ZeroPowerODDenabled on the right side. It is likely that you only see the parameter if your computer supports the feature.

Double-click the value and change it to 0. You then need to restart your computer before the changes become active. You can at any time enable the feature again by repeating the steps. The only difference is that you need to set the value to 1 instead of 0 to enable it. (via)

Smart Power is a energy saving program for Windows that installs itself as a service. The program offers highly configurable rules that define when and how power is saved on the PC system.

save energy

The program basically uses rules to decide if the PC can be suspended or turned off completely. A total of four different rule groups can be configured individually:

• Devices: Configure IP addresses / hostnames in this groups. If activated, the PC will stay on if the configured devices are connected to it.
• Network: Select a network interface and a throughout threshold. If the threshold is above the selected limit the PC will stay on. The throughout is the combined total of incoming and outgoing network traffic per second.
• CPU: Define a cpu threshold limit, if the limit is exceeded the PC will stay on. The limit defines the total cpu usage across all cpu cores.
• Processed: Define processes that prevent the computer from going into shutdown / suspension.

Finally, there are two additional groups that can be configured. The first is called schedules, and this group defines a time in which the PC will stay on, regardless of the other rules.

The second is an option to start or stop services before the PC hibernates or suspends. The services are restarted when the PC wakes up.

Here’s how I use SmartPower on my Windows Home Server:

• I have a single schedule that applies to every day of the week and runs from 10am to midnight. That means that my WHS turns on at 10am every day and is guaranteed to be on until midnight.
• I list 3 other PCs on my network as devices. That means that my WHS will never turn off if 1 or more of those PCs are turned on (even if it’s past midnight).
• I have network throughput monitoring enabled and the threshold set to 15KB/sec. That means that if my WHS is busy downloading something after midnight it won’t turn off until the download has finished.

SmartPower is compatible with Windows XP and later. It requires the Microsoft .net Framework and is available for download at the developer website.

The new power saving modes sleep and hybrid sleep replaced standby and hibernate. Sleep is just another name for standby. The data is saved to computer memory in this state before most PC components are turned off. Hybrid Sleep is a mix of sleep and hibernate as it saves the work both into memory and on the hard drive. The latter is turned off by default on mobile devices.

The reason for hybrid sleep being turned off on mobile devices is that they will automatically switch into hibernation if they run low on battery.

Some Windows users have problems with the Hybrid Sleep mode as it uses settings that can put a PC into the mode even if it is not idle.

Dont Sleep is a portable software program for the Windows operating system that can block the OS from going into sleep and hybrid-sleep mode. The program will display a list of options upon startup, namely to block:

• Standby, Hybrid-standby and Hibernation
• Shutdown
• Logoff
• Screensaver and turning off the monitor

The user can place the icon in the system tray from where it will do its magic. It is further possible to set a timer to turn the program off at a specific date and time so that the modes are not longer blocked.

Don’t Sleep is a portable software compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system.

A user who needs to access the computer system quickly at work does not necessarily wants to use a energy saving power profile that shuts down the computer monitor, hard drives or even hibernates. The situation might be different at home for the same user where time is normally not a pressing matter.

Enter PowerSlave (via ShellCity), a PC power management software for the Windows XP and Windows Vista operating system. PowerSlave allows a user to create a day time and night time plan for the computer system. These two plans can be configured individually with power schemes that are taken directly from the operating system

The PC power management software can be configured to run any of the available power schemes in the configured time period which makes it dead easy to set different power plans for day and night use. The computer memory usage of PowerSlave is quite high. We have covered similar PC power management programs such as Edison, Notebook Hardware Control or Computer Energy Saving Tips.

Computer systems consume power. The amount of power depends on the system at hand. It can vary widely depending on the hardware build into the computer system. A high end user’s computer with the latest hardware will consume more power than an Office computer system that uses low end hardware. High end computer systems use 250 Watts or more per hour which equals 1 kWh every four hours of usage. The US average energy costs for 1 kWh are $0.11. This varies a lot in the country but also worldwide. The costs of 1 kWh in Germany average around $0.27 for example.

A computer running 24 hours a day using 100 Watts per hour will need 876 kWh a year which would equal $96 when using the US average and $236 in Germany. If the computer uses 250 Watts instead the costs would rise to 2190 kWh per year which would equal $240 in the US and $591 in Germany. Not all computer systems are running 24 hours though but it is probably good to know some maximum values. Keep in mind that energy costs are on the rise and that it will also reduce heat and noise.

1. Buy energy efficient products

Considering energy efficient products is a good way to save energy in the first place. Look for logos like the Energy Star to buy computer hardware that offers a good energy efficiency. Another good idea is to look for a 80+ power supply unit which is more energy efficient as well. (See 80 Plus Power Supply Units)

2. Use build in power saving features

Most operating systems come with power saving features that put hardware like hard drives or the computer monitor into idle mode or turn it off for the time it is not being used. Idle mode consumes between 20 to 50 times less energy. Windows users find the power saving settings in the Control Panel. It might be necessary to tweak the values for turning off the computer monitor, hard drives and setting a system standby time to suit the individual needs. A lower time will save more energy but is also likelier to affect work.

This also includes the possibility to underclock hardware. A high end video card is only needed with its full power when playing the latest computer games. It is definitely not needed in most other situations. Underclocking the video card will save energy (read create video card profiles to save power) The same is true for processors.

3. Turn down the brightness

Turning down the brightness of the computer monitor, or any other monitor actually, saves energy. This is actually a good tip for users with laptops, netbooks and other mobile devices including cell phones. It can also be helpful on desktop systems.

4. Turn off the monitor instead of using a screensaver

Screensavers do not save energy. Their function these days is reduced to visuals only. Turning off the computer monitor instead of running screensavers saves lots of energy.

5. Disable devices that are not needed

Laptops come with all sorts of devices that a user might not need. Each of the devices – if enabled – consume energy. A laptop user that uses the build in network adapter and a cable to connect to the Internet probably does not need Wi-fi, the build in modem, Bluetooth or infrared. The same might be valid for other devices like the DVD drive or sound card.

6. Turn off the computer

This might be an obvious tip but there are a few myths surrounding this. Some users think that turning off a computer will reduce its lifetime. Others believe that it will cost more power to turn the computer off and on again than to put it to hibernate mode.

It might not make sense to turn off a computer system when going on a 5 minute break but it definitely make sense for longer breaks, e.g. lunch or meetings.

7. Share hardware where appropriate

Hardware like printers, scanners or routers that are connected to a computer system are also using power. A way to save energy is to share these devices where possible. This does require some computer knowledge though.

Energy Saving Verdict: It is possible to save lots of energy by turning off devices when they are not needed. Buying energy efficient hardware and using power saving settings are the two other helpful options.

Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments.

The tools on the other hand are similar regardless of the motivation of the single user. A computer power management software like Edison can aid the user in the process. Edison basically allows a user to set power saving profiles for work and off-work hours on a computer system.

Three parameters can be defined for both work time and non-work time that have been taken directly from the Power Options of the Windows Control Panel

The user can define the time in minutes to turn off the display, power down the connected hard drives and to suspend the computer. Edison will display an estimated annual saving which is divided into money, energy and CO2. The problem with those figures is that they calculate the savings by taking the average PC usage per year into account. Users who work more or less will see different results as will users who work with a high-end computer system or low end system.

The figures can therefor only be seen as a guideline. It is possible to change the price per kWh but not the average work time per day which is rather unfortunate.

A slider is available on top that can be used to configure the program. Experienced users can also enter the values manually.

Edison is an interesting application as it visualizes the abstract power saving concept. It might make more sense for most users to simply adjust the power saving settings in the Control Panel.

Users who are serious about saving energy might want to invest money in an energy monitor that is connected between power source and computer. They might also be interested in the articles: Saving Energy With All Off, Create Video Card Profiles To Save Power And Reduce Noise and 80 Plus Power Supply Units.

Local Cooling [via Shell Extension City (You guys rock)]is not applying magic however. All it does is offer the user easy access to energy saving options that can also be accessed in Windows independently. It does however offer the user power saving modes with which he can change the mode with the click of the mouse button. Low, Medium, High and Custom power saving modes are available to choose from.

These modes change the idle time before the monitor is switched off, before hard drives spin down and the PC is shutdown. A high power saving mode turns the monitor off after 5 minutes of idle time while a low one after 15 minutes.

The custom setting accepts any values and can increase or decrease the idle time before the power saving mode kicks in.

The question that I have been asking myself however was why someone would need Local Cooling at all. I mean, the settings are available right in the Windows Control Panel, right ?

I have two possible answers for you. The first is accessibility. You start Local Cooling and all you need to do is press one button and you are saving energy. That’s better than locating those power saving options somewhere in the Windows options, if you know that such settings exist.

The second answer is the community effect. If you known Seti or Folding at home you know that you can create groups and compare what your computer / group has achieved against others who participate. You can do the same with Local Cooling.

It is possible to create or join a group and check your stats online and how they compare to other users. You could create a group for your school, workplace or University and see how it compares against the other groups.

Oh, there is one last element that users will like. It details the Savings on your PC in saved trees, galllons and kWh. And it made the realize that I probably could use the AMD Cool & Quiet technology to run my cpu with less power to save energy. I write and surf the web most of the time anyway.