Stand by for an energy-saving innovation
It's all too easy to put your laptop on standby when you're working: you've got multiple tabs open, possibly some unsaved work and no time to sit patiently as the closedown music strikes up and each program laboriously shuts down. But doesn't standby waste a lot of energy?
Generally speaking, yes, putting your PC in standby is not a good move. In the UK alone we waste the equivalent of two power stations' worth of electricity each year just by leaving computers, TVs and other gadgets on standby. Which is why electrics firm NXP Semiconductors has designed a new energy-efficient chip for laptops, which reduces power consumption when the computer is put in standby mode.
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"Green chip" works by significantly reducing standby power consumption, which has obvious green benefits. But as an added bonus, you'll save money on your electricity bills, and the computer hardwear is lighter too.
