Whether you should turn off your computer at night is a tough question, as some computers can benefit from being turned off at night while others need to stay on. Many people choose to turn off their computers to save energy, increase safety, and reduce wear and tear on parts. Others choose to leave it on for nightly processes, data sharing, and network or security updates. Ultimately, whether or not to turn off your computer at night is an individual decision, and you’ll have to weigh the pros and cons. If you have a home PC without a network, turning it off and on might be more beneficial.
A laptop turned off.
save energy
A common reason for shutting down a computer at night is power consumption. Those that are turned off use less electricity than those that are turned on, even when they are in sleep or hibernation mode. Desktop computers consume much more energy than laptops, so turning them off can have a more noticeable impact on the price of your electricity bill. While sleep mode significantly reduces the amount of electricity used, a device in sleep mode will still use about one-third of the power it uses when it’s turned on.
Turning off a desktop computer at night will save electricity.
Safety
Shutting down your computer at night offers a small, temporary boost in security. When a computer is completely powered off, it is not susceptible to Internet attacks or unauthorized electronic access. Turning off the device can also protect it from being accessed by intruders on the premises simply because accessing a computer that is not yet turned on takes longer. If you decide to shut down your computer at night, it’s important to ensure that all operating system and antivirus software updates are complete before doing so, as shutting down can interrupt the update and leave you vulnerable to attack.
Unplugging computers that are not in use can lower your electricity bill.
Potential performance increase
Some operating systems benefit from shutdown and restart. To do this, turning off the device at night ensures that the system restarts in the morning, which can help eliminate crashes and slowdowns during the day. However, other systems do not benefit from a reboot, and the process of rebooting your computer and the programs used for the day can take a long time.
Some systems benefit from being shut down and restarted every day.
Hardware life
Shutting down your computer at night can also reduce wear and tear on certain hardware parts, such as the fan and monitor. Because these parts are usually on when the computer is turned on, long, continuous use can cause them to wear out. While you can do things to help prevent wear, like turning off your monitor and making sure your computer doesn’t get too hot, leaving it on for too long will likely cause it to wear out faster than if you didn’t. A computer that’s on also collects dust, so leaving it on overnight means you’ll need to clean it more often.
Despite this, turning the machine on and off every day can put a strain on other hardware, such as the central processing unit (CPU) and hard drive. When the computer is turned on, these parts tend to heat up and expand, and then cool down and contract once it is turned off. The stress of expanding and contracting every day can eventually damage hardware.
When to leave it on
In some cases, it is not recommended to turn off the computer at night. If it’s part of a work network and the administrator does the updates at night, you could cause problems or delays if you turn it off. Computers that host data and hardware needed by others on a network must also remain powered on. For example, if you access a printer through a computer, you don’t want to turn it off unless no one else is using it. If your computer acts as a communication device, such as an answering machine, telephone, or fax machine, it should also remain on whenever calls come in.
Some users may turn off the computer because they think it will protect it from power surges, but it really isn’t. Even when powered off, the machine remains vulnerable as long as it’s plugged in. Surge protectors or unplugging the machine can help prevent electrical damage.
When a computer is turned off, it is not susceptible to attacks from the Internet or unauthorized electronic access.
