It's Not Easy Being Green: Understanding Home Computer Power Management

Although domestic computer use is increasing, most efforts to reduce energy use through improved power management have focused on computers in the workplace. We studied 20 households to understand how people use power management strategies on their home computers. We saw computers in the home, particularly desktop computers, are left on much more than they are actively used suggesting opportunities for economic and energy savings. However, for most of our participants, the economic incentives were too minor to motivate them to turn off devices when not in use, especially given other frustrations such as long boot up times. We suggest research directions for home computer power management that could help users be more green without having to dramatically change their home computing habits.