Reduce energy consumption
An idea has come to my mind while reading the book “j’ameliore mon bilan carbone”.
May I use the same devices and consume less energy ?
For instance, i’ve taken the habit to write and do most of my computer tasks on my laptop instead of using my big pc sitting on my desk. But can I do more, can i improve a little more my energy consumption.
I’ve decide to think about it, i’ve decided to watch the energy cost of what I buy to replace my current hardware and to take the most efficient product to replace it. In my network attached storage (NAS) I’ve decide to replace my drives with more energy efficient ones. I had to replace them anyway because they approach end of life. The new ones spins way less 5400 RPM instead of 7200 and have 256Mo of cache. With this i gain a lot of advantages :
- they spins less so the motor on the drive work less and will live for longer
- they heat less
- the noise is reduced
- and of course the energy cost is lower
And for no downside !
But I’ve decided to dig deeper. I’ve tracked the less used software and uninstalled them. I’ve also installed powertop to know what use the most power of my server and tweaked the parameters to consume less.
Now that i’ve taken the most out of my server, i’ve decided to tweak my laptop. I’ve used the same starting point: powertop. First of all, it may sound stupid, but i’ve realised that the main energy leak on my laptop is due to my screen backlight. I’ve reduced it to the point where it is just enough to work on it but not exhausting for my eyes (using the software brightnessctl).
Next I’ve installed TLP (Linux advanced power management) to optimize the CPU parameters, the network paramaters, disable the bluetooth that i don’t use (uninstalled btusb)… Now I’ve got a confortable 5h on battery instead of 4h. It may seem small but 1h on batery is a lot.
I’ve also decided to use my computer only when a computer is required, and use more my phone for tasks that doesn’t require that much power like going to youtube or browsing. I’ve gained on comfort and noticed that reducing my energy consumption is not a synonym of getting my life style reduced.