A Contributed Post: Energy Saving Tips for Online Students
Studying online can often feel like you are constantly connected through one device or another. Since online study is mainly self-led, you’re going to be spending the most part of many days sat at your computer at home. For online students who are trying to use less energy in order to reduce their carbon footprint and save money on utility bills, the idea of using up less energy when you have so much studying to do every day can seem impossible. Thankfully, even if you’re careful, there are plenty of ways in which you can reduce your energy usage even more, without having to compromise on study time. We’ve listed some of the best ways that you can do this here.
Unplug
If you’ve been using a desktop PC for studying, there’s never been a better time to invest in a good laptop. Not only will having a laptop give you more freedom to move around when you’re studying – for example you can work in a coffee shop, at the local library, or even outdoors with all of your files and important resources available right at your fingertips. Using a laptop is also much less draining on your energy supplies, as once you’ve charged the battery up you’ll be able to get a good few hours’ work out of it without having to plug it back in to the mains.
Check Windows and Doors
Not only can drafts be irritating when you are trying to study, a drafty home can also mean that you’re using up way more energy than you actually need in order to heat your home when it’s cold. Since most online degree courses, such as ADN to NP programs, will start in September or January, you can expect to be completing a lot of work from home during the winter months when it’s cold outside. Checking your windows and doors for any small gaps that could be letting cold air through can actually save more energy than most people realize. When a home is drafty, heating it takes far more work, so getting rid of the entry points can help to keep your energy use, carbon footprint, and utility bills down.
Energy Saving Appliances
With more and more people trying to save energy and reduce their carbon footprint, there is a wide range of products to choose from when it comes to saving energy. When buying things such as kitchen appliances and light bulbs for your home, for example, opting for any ‘energy saving’ alternatives is a great way to reduce the amount of energy that you use whilst you study at home. Although these appliances can often cost more initially, the savings that you can gain in the long run are definitely worthwhile, something than many MSN online students like to take advantage of.
For online students, the need to be constantly connected, along with spending extensive study times at home, can increase energy use. If you’re an online student who’s trying to be greener and use less energy, these tips can help you to achieve this.
It is likely that computers will become more energy efficient than they are now. However, when doing on-line studying, it is not only the computer that is using energy. The Internet requires huge computer power and all the resources connected to the Internet also use power. I haven’t seen any figures on this, but it may be that a student’s personal computer, of whatever type, is using less power than all the resources required to make the Internet work. As technology advances, the Internet and the resources commented thereto will probably also become more efficient.
Whether any research has been done on this I don’t know, but it would be interesting to have the answers.