Energy Misconceptions Published Oct. 22, 2009 RAF ALCONBURY, United Kingdom -- Screen savers save energy FALSE Screen savers don't save energy It's cheaper to leave a fluorescent light on rather than switch it off FALSE It is much cheaper to turn lights off when not in use even for a very short amount of time It's better to leave a monitor on because continually turning them on and off uses more energy FALSE A PC monitor only consumes one seconds energy worth of running time when being started up or closed down. As monitors account for 70 percent of the PCs energy use, it's always better to turn them off when at lunch or at meetings. It's better to leave a PC running because continually turning them on and off wears out the equipment FALSE Regularly turning a PC off not only saves energy but also extends the machines life due to a reduction in mechanical wear. Manufactures now recommend that users turn off their machines when not being used PCs and monitors automatically go in to sleep mode FALSE You need to activate the PCs energy saving functions The radiator is cold so the heating MUST be off FALSE The heating isn't necessarily off. Where a building heating system or radiator is thermostatically controlled the radiator may go off because the office has reached an optimal temperature (19oC). The heating will automatically come back on if the temperature drops.