EcoRenovator  

Go Back   EcoRenovator > Improvements > Appliances & Gadgets
Advanced Search
 


Blog 60+ Home Energy Saving Tips Recent Posts Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-07-14, 11:12 PM   #1
swamisalami
Lurking Renovator
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: anchorage
Posts: 4
Thanks: 2
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default Computers and Smartphones

Hey guys,
I've recently had a great deal of success with my desktop computer's settings and my smartphone. As far as the computer goes, anytime I step away from it, i'll simply turn off the monitor with the push of a button. Secondly, I changed my desktop background and color scheme to black. There are even settings in which one can make the internet browser's background black! (if anyone has any tips on how to make a browser black with white text, please let me know. I'm unable to use the black browser setting, because of my poor eyesight). This is something I hadn't thought of until recently. Third, I hooked it up to a surge protector that I can turn off when not in use. I've come a long way from leaving my computer on sleep mode instead of turning it completely off!

Finally, I made similar changes to my smartphone. I also recently learned that turning one's phone off at night and keeping it plugged in is very good for both the battery life and electric consumption. I've also started pushing the sleep button as soon as I'm done with it instead of waiting for the screen to go black on its own. I usually don't have to charge my phone at odd times anymore. Also, when I plug it in at night I usually have around 25-30% battery life left.

I'll have to wait until I get back to Alaska to use my kill-a-watt to really expand upon my savings in these particular ways, but I have no doubt these methods are advantageous.

swamisalami is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-08-14, 09:47 AM   #2
ecomodded
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Vancouver Island,Canada.
Posts: 1,037
Thanks: 116
Thanked 100 Times in 87 Posts
Default

Windows has a High contrast setting that works well when using a laptop outside or in the car. But it is designed for people with vision impairment.

Using the high contrast setting should give a black browser page if I remember correctly..

Are you using the high contrast setting ? if not look under accessibility in the control panel , I think there is also a place to turn the feature on and off on the bottom of the log on screen , in windows.
ecomodded is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-08-14, 09:51 AM   #3
ecomodded
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Vancouver Island,Canada.
Posts: 1,037
Thanks: 116
Thanked 100 Times in 87 Posts
Default

Also in firefox

Go to tools , Content , click on Colors which is next to default font's and set the background color to Black and Text to white.
ecomodded is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-08-14, 09:58 AM   #4
ecomodded
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Vancouver Island,Canada.
Posts: 1,037
Thanks: 116
Thanked 100 Times in 87 Posts
Default

I use 22 as my font size for easy reading at 8 to 10 ft. on my main lcd TV
ecomodded is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-08-14, 10:59 AM   #5
NiHaoMike
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
NiHaoMike's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,154
Thanks: 14
Thanked 257 Times in 241 Posts
Default

The black background myth is busted on LCDs. You'll do better with black text on white background and the backlight turned way down.

On OLED, there is a big savings from a black background.
__________________
To my surprise, shortly after Naomi Wu gave me a bit of fame for making good use of solar power, Allie Moore got really jealous of her...
NiHaoMike is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to NiHaoMike For This Useful Post:
RobbMeeX (12-07-14), Servicetech (11-08-14)
Old 04-16-15, 02:52 PM   #6
Leafgreen
Laughing Renovator
 
Leafgreen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Chicago
Posts: 6
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Really quick and dirty way: Simply hit CTRL-A in the browser window. This will highlight the text, turning it from black to white.

Leafgreen is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Tags
computer, smartphone

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:42 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Ad Management by RedTyger
Inactive Reminders By Icora Web Design