Eco Button to save on PC power use

UK gift and gadget suppliers, ShinyShack, have launched the Eco Button - a USB switch that sends your PC into sleep mode at the switch of a button.

It also comes with software that shows how much energy consumption you’ve saved on - as well as the cost savings you’ve made.

The device comes at a time when energy use by personal computers raises continued concerns.

Although many PC’s come with some form of energy saving functions built in, not least the sleep function, the problem is that for most PC users the sleep mode runs on a timer.

This means that a PC can be sat idle, burning electricity for little reason, for tens of minutes each time it is left unused.

As a PC uses around 175 Watts in normal mode, but only 35 Watts in sleep mode, the difference soon builds up.

While the Eco Button isn’t going to solve Global Warming any time soon, it’s definitely one of the more useful devices people can use at home in everyday use to help save on their power consumption.