I’m a committed laptop user, but most of the time, I’m just using it at my desk. Do I save more energy by keeping it plugged in, or should I use my charger only when my battery gets low?
First, some good news: Despite your desk-bound ways, you’re using a
laptop, which is already a greener choice than a desktop. It’s not just
that you don’t have a monitor to plug in—although that’s a big part of
it. Laptops are typically designed to be more energy-efficient than
their desktop counterparts, and all in all, they are estimated to use as
much as 80 percent less energy
while operating. There’s a simple reason why laptops are more
efficient: They need to be. Waste energy on a desktop, and you’ll get a
slightly higher electricity bill.
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But if your laptop isn’t energy-efficient, that means either you’ll
need a bigger battery (and a heavier machine) or you’ll spend half your
time hunting for an outlet at your local coffee shop. (Laptops likely
require less energy to manufacture, too—although regardless of which
machine you use, one of the greenest things you can do is hold off on
buying a new computer.)
