4 Free Software Tools to Save Energy on Home Computing

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Free software, called Edison, is now available from Microsoft to boost the energy efficiency of home computers, according to the New York Times.

Together with the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, an industry effort to halve energy use of computing by 2010, and a start-up called Verdiem, Microsoft hopes to cut down on the expense and pollution associated with home computer energy use. According to one estimate, PCs are responsible for 40% of greenhouse gas emissions associated with information technology and telecommunications.

Download Edison from Verdium or Microsoft's environment page.

Edison joins other free tools that help users calculate and reduce energy consumption. Among them, according to the Times: the EPA’s EZ Wizard, Snap.com's CO2 Saver and Google's Energy Saving Gadget.

All seek to cut down on the energy wasted when computers are idle. Users can direct their machines to enter "sleep" mode after periods of inactivity. It's also good to get in the habit of shutting down computers completely when they won't be in use, and unplugging them when they will be unused for longer periods of time.

The average user can save between $20 and nearly $100 a year, according to one analysis.

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