Assessment of Energy Consumption of
Laboratory Desktop Computers
Sherlin Fuentes, Lorenz Winston Malicdem, John Michael Manansala, Luis Emanuel Pasicolan, Dann Mark Ulitin
Abstract — Desktop computers are electronic devices
used for personal and educational purposes such as online
editing, internet browsing, circuit simulation, etc. The
energy consumption of the computers in every room is
dependent on their desktop specification, hours of usage,
and mode they are in at a given time period. The
specifications of the computers were gathered from the
website of LENOVO and Apple. The number of hours that
each computer was being used was computed by gathering
the schedule of classes using the computers and the number
of students in each class. Since the researchers were only
able to gather the fixed number of hours the computers are
being used and the maximum number of students using
them from Monday to Saturday, they used linear-regression
to compute for the power consumption on the following
weeks. Based on the data gathered the researches were able
to recommend the following: After class the students should
set their computers to sleep mode. The computers should be
automatically shut down after 15 mins that it has not been
turned on. In case there are no scheduled class after the
previous class, all computers should be shut down by the
students. In case the same class is scheduled to occupy the
laboratory, the students should set their computers to
hibernate.
I. INTRODUCTION
A desktop computer is a personal computing device designed
to fit on top of a typical office desk [1]. It has a monitor or
another display, keyboard, mouse, and either a horizontal or
vertical (tower) form factor [2]. Development of desktop
computers, according to the PC History organization, stemmed
from the 1971 introduction of the microprocessor [3]. In 1980
Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-Dos) was born and in
1981 IBM introduced the personal computer (PC) for home and
office use [4]. The first computer that could be considered a
desktop was the Olivetti Programma 101. It was released in
1965 and was the size of a typewriter. Desktop computers
became increasingly popular in the subsequent decades with
IBM Personal Computer and Apple Macintosh dominating the
market [1]. In 2009, IBM opens the first IBM Innovation Center
in the Philippines, providing access to academe, developers,
partners, and independent software vendors, in order to provide
leading edge technology, at no cost [5].
Processing power was gradually taken off from central
mainframes and distributed over each user's desktop, in the
form of personal computers (PCs) [6]. A desktop uses an
average of 200 W/hour when it is being used (loudspeakers and
printer included). A computer that is on for eight hours a day
uses almost 600 kWh [7]. A typical desktop PC with a 20” flat
panel LCD monitor requires about 100 watts – 80 for the
computer and 20 for the monitor. Left on 24/7 for one year, the
system will consume 874 kWh of electricity [8]. The energy
consumption of computers and monitors is determined by the
amount of energy they require to operate and how they are used.
While the energy requirements of a device make an important
contribution to its overall energy consumption, the key to
reducing energy consumption is changing how devices are used
[9]. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that 13 percent
of commercial energy use comes from computers [10].
Energy is indeed a very crucial factor in economic
activity and accordingly, sufficient supply of energy is neeeded
for continuous economic development [11]. Energy
conservation is reducing energy consumption using less of an
energy service [12]. It is any behavior that results in the use of
less energy [13]. Even though energy conservation reduces
energy services, it can result in increased environmental quality,
national security, personal financial security and higher
savings. Energy conservation is unquestionably of great
importance to all of us, since we rely on energy for everything
we do every single day. Energy supplies are limited and, to
maintain a good quality of life, we must find ways to use energy
wisely [14].
Computer power management (CPM) can save up to
$45/PC annually by activating existing Windows settings that
place the computer (hard drive, CPU, etc.) into a low-power
sleep mode [15]. Power management of personal computers
(PCs) and monitors has the potential to save significant amounts
of electricity as well as deliver other economic and
environmental benefits. The amount of electricity savings from
power management is highly dependent on user operating
patterns—if the computer and monitor are often left on at night
and on weekends, savings will be toward the higher end of this
range [16].
II. DESKTOP COMPUTER
A. Literature Review
There are 3 Power button options available – Sleep,
Hibernate and Shut down. Under different situation, you may
choose different mode considering saving power, battery life or
convenience [17]. In order to make the most appropriate
decision, it’s important to have a good understanding of what
each of these options does [18].
Sleep mode uses very little power, your PC starts up
faster, and you’re instantly back to where you left off [19]. In
sleep mode, the PC enters a low-power state. The PC’s state is
kept in memory, but other parts of the PC are shut down and
won’t use any power. When you turn on the PC, it snaps back
to life quickly—you won’t have to wait for it to boot up. [20]
 Hibernation mode is a ‘deeper’ sleep. It essentially TABLE 1
saves the contents of RAM to disk and then shuts down, so it MODEL OF DESKTOP IN EACH ROOM
uses no power. However, it takes longer to wake up and get
going again [21]. The time it takes is largely dependent on the Room Type of Desktop
hardware in your PC, including RAM and hard drive speeds 201 M83 Mini Tower Desktop
[22]. This consumes less power than the sleep mode, and 202 M720 Tower Desktop
practically the same as when the computer is shut down [18]. 203 M720 Tower Desktop
Shutting down is pretty fast, but booting up is painfully 204 M720 Tower Desktop
slow [23]. Shutdown ends all your applications and completely 205 M83 Mini Tower Desktop
powers off the laptop or desktop PC. It clears all memory. It 206 M83 Mini Tower Desktop
also feels like clearing up your desk a little bit [24]. While a PC 207 iMac (2015)
still draws a little bit of power when shut down (unless it’s 222 M83 Mini Tower Desktop
unplugged from the power source), it remains as a better 223 M83 Mini Tower Desktop
energy-saving option [25]. 224 M83 Mini Tower Desktop
225 M83 Mini Tower Desktop
227 M83 Mini Tower Desktop
228 M83 Mini Tower Desktop
III. METHODOLOGY 302 M83 Mini Tower Desktop
305 M83 Mini Tower Desktop
306 M720 Tower Desktop
A. Gathering of Data 307 M83 Mini Tower Desktop
308 M83 Mini Tower Desktop
309 M83 Mini Tower Desktop

The table above shows which type of desktop is used

by the students in the specified rooms. This shows that most
used type of desktop is the M83 Mini Tower Desktop. 14 rooms
use M83 Mini Tower Desktop, 4 rooms use M720 Tower
Desktop, and only 1 room uses iMac (2015).

B. Computer Specification

Fig. 1. M83 Fig. 2. M720 TABLE 2

LISTS OF DEVICES
Power
Desktop Specification
Input
Think Centre RAM – 4 GB 280 W
M83 Mini Tower CPU Speed – 2.8 GHz
Desktop OS – Window 7
Processor – Intel Core I5
Think Centre RAM – 8 GB 210 W
M720 Tower CPU Speed – 2.8 GHz
Desktop OS – Window 8
Processor – Intel Core I5
iMac (2015) RAM – 8 GB 84 W
CPU Speed – 2.8 GHz
Fig. 3. iMac OS – macOS 10.12 (Sierra)
Processor – Intel Core I5

The computer specification was gathered by

There are three different desktops used by the students inspecting the hardware of every desktop on each laboratory.
with each having their own specifications. Each three devices The schedule of classes in each room, as well as the number of
were used to gather the output wattage. The test indicates the students, was verified by using the student portal.
time of the usage of each student in different courses.
C. Computation for Energy Consumption per Day The figure above shows the energy consumption of all
rooms for one (1) month using linear regression.

The energy consumption per day of each room was

computed by multiplying the number of enrolled students in Semester

Power Consumption
each course and the number of computers being used and for
150000
how long it was being used.

(kWh)
100000

50000
y = 1004.8x + 154.86
0 R² = 1
0 50 100 150
Days

Fig. 7. Power Consumption of all room per semester

Fig. 4. Mathematical Equation in computing energy
consumption The graph above shows the total energy consumption
of the desktops for one (1) whole semester of a school year. The
graph was made using linear regression.
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Average Power Consumption

150
Weekly
Power Consumption (kWh)

8000 100

6000
50
4000
y = 1016.2x + 116.8
2000 0
R² = 0.9951
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
0
0 2 4 6 8
Fig. 8. Average Power Consumption of all room
Days
The figure shows the average weekly power
Fig. 5. Weekly Power Consumption of all room consumption of each rooms. This graph shows that room A-201
has the largest energy consumption in a week having an average
The figure shows the accumulated power consumption of 139.319 kWh. While the room that has the lowest average
of all rooms weekly. The data was computed using linear- energy consumption is room A-207, consuming only an average
regression. of 3.4075 kWh per week.

TABLE 3
Monthly SUMMARY OF AVERAGE KWH USAGE PER ROOM WEEKLY
Power Consumption (kWh)

30000 Room Average Room Average Room Average

kwh kwh kwh
1 – A201 139.319 8 – A222 44.865 15 – A305 3.696
20000
2 – A202 114.383 9 – A223 42.247 16 – A306 97.995

10000 y = 1004.1x + 160.27 3 – A203 74.058 10 – A224 47.894 17 – A307 17.607

R² = 0.9997 4 – A204 94.486 11 – A225 40.245 18 – A308 12.576
0 5 – A205 79.452 12 – A227 48.664 19 – A309 8.624
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
6 – A206 100.408 13 – A228 12.217
Days
7 – A207 3.4075 14 – A302 22.638

Fig. 6. Monthly Power Consumption of all room The table above is the tabular form of Figure 8. It
contains the numerical value of the average energy
consumption of each room computed daily for a week or 6 days.

TABLE 4
SUMMARY OF AVERAGE KWH USAGE
Total Consumption
Weekly 3673.467 kwh
Monthly 13715.43 kwh
Semester 54917.44 kwh
Table 4 shows the total energy consumed of all rooms
for a week, a month, and the whole semester.
V. Conclusion and Recommendations
To see the energy consumption of each type of
desktop, we collected the specifications of each type. By
comparing the data, it is noticeable that M83 has the largest
wattage, while the M720 desktop and iMac consumes 75% and
30% of the energy that the M83 consumes, respectively. It is
clearly advantageous to use iMac rather than M720 and M83
based on their energy consuming capabilities, but the price of
each iMac unit is expensive compared to both Lenovo Desktop
units. Each iMac unit costs approximately 75000 Php, while
each M83 unit costs approximately 10000 Php, and each M720
unit costs 23000 Php [26]. In the long run, TIP can save more
money if they would change the M83 Desktops into either iMac
or M720 depending into the purpose of the laboratory.
In order to save more, after class the students should
set their computers to sleep mode. The computers should be
automatically shut down after 15 mins that it has not been
turned on. In case there are no scheduled class after the previous
class, all computers should be shut down by the students. And
in case the same class is scheduled to occupy the laboratory, the
students should set their computers to hibernate. Lastly, M83
Desktops shall be installed into laboratories that are least used.
M720 Desktops shall be placed into laboratories that are mostly
used. Due to the price of iMac, these units must only be used in
laboratories that requires the full functionality of these desktop
units.
References
[1] M. Rouse, "SearchEnterpriseDesktop," TechTarget, September 2018.
[Online]. Available:
https://searchenterprisedesktop.techtarget.com/definition/desktop-
computer. [Accessed 10 October 2019].
[2] C. Hope, "Desktop Computer," Computer Hope, August 2 2019.
[Online]. Available:
https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/d/desktopc.htm. [Accessed 10
October 2019].
[3] K. Evans, "Information on Desktop Computers," itstillworks, [Online].
Available: https://itstillworks.com/lenovo-12634.html. [Accessed 10
October 2019].
[4] B. Steitz, "A Brief Computer History," 2006. [Online]. Available:
http://people.bu.edu/baws/brief%20computer%20history.html.
[Accessed 14 October 2019].
[5] IBM, "Philippines Chronology," IBM, 2011. [Online]. Available:
https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/asia/Philippines_ch1.html.
[Accessed 10 October 2019].
[6] T. Cruz, "Enabling PreOS desktop management," April 2003. [Online].
Available:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4011730_Enabling_PreOS_d
esktop_management. [Accessed 6 August 2019].
[7] Sibelga, "eneguide.be," Sibelga, 2019. [Online]. Available:
https://www.energuide.be/en/questions-answers/how-much-power-
does-a-computer-use-and-how-much-co2-does-that-represent/54/.
[Accessed 14 October 2019].
[8] Angelo State University, "Computer Energy Conservation," Angelo
State University, [Online]. Available:
https://www.angelo.edu/services/technology/computer_energy.php.
[Accessed 15 October 2019].
[9] M. Bray, "Review of Computer Energy Consumption and Potential
Savings," December 2006. [Online]. Available:
https://www.dssw.co.uk/research/computer_energy_consumption.html.
[10] M. Stevens, "Reducing Desktop Power Consumption:," Faronics, pp. 1-
5, 8 April 2008.
[11] P. Diwan and P. Dwivedi, Energy Conservation, India: Pentagon energy
Press, 2009.
[12] R. Lekshmanan, "Energy Conservation," Research Gate, pp. 8982-8985,
2015.
[13] The Need Project, "Energy Efficiency," Intermediate energy Infobook,
pp. 50-53, 2018.
[14] R. Banerjee, "Importance of Energy Conservation," International
Journal of Innovative Research in Advanced Engineering (IJIRAE), pp.
186-190, 2015.
[15] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ENERGY STAR ; The Cadmus
Group, Inc.; Beacon Consultants; Terra Novum, "Computer Power
Management: It’s Time to Wake Up," ACEEE Summer Study on Energy
Efficiency in Buildings, p. 291, 2006.
[16] B. Nordman, M. Piette, K. Kinney and C. Webber, "User guide to power
management for PCs and monitors," researchgate, p. 63, 1997.
[17] Amanda, "Should You Shut down, Sleep or Hibernate Windows 10 PC?
[Partition Magic]," 21 August 2019. [Online]. Available:
https://www.partitionwizard.com/partitionmagic/sleep-hibernate-shut-
down-windows-10-024.html.
[18] C. Amate, "Sleep, hibernate, or shut down your laptop, which option is
best?," 21 June 2014. [Online]. Available:
https://blogthinkbig.com/sleep-hibernate-or-shut-down-your-laptop-
which-option-is-best.
[19] Microsoft, "Windows Support," Microsoft, 18 October 2017. [Online].
Available: https://support.microsoft.com/en-ph/help/13770/windows-
shut-down-sleep-hibernate-your-pc. [Accessed 14 October 2019].
[20] C. Hoffman, "Should You Shut Down, Sleep, or Hibernate Your
Laptop?," 10 July 2017. [Online]. Available:
https://www.howtogeek.com/128507/htg-explains-should-you-shut-
down-sleep-or-hibernate-your-laptop/.
[21] D. Stavniychuk, "Shutdown, sleep, or hibernate: what's the best for your
PC?," 7 August 2018. [Online]. Available: https://macpaw.com/how-
to/shutdown-sleep-hibernate-pc.
[22] C. Hunt, "Hibernate, sleep, or shut down: what's best for your PC?," 3 Student Chapter. And from June 2018 to March 2019, he
January 2017. [Online]. Available: was the 3rd year representative of IIEE – TIP Manila. He was a
https://www.windowscentral.com/hibernate-sleep-or-shut-down-whats-
best-your-pc.
member of IIEE, UPHSD- Las Piñas student chapter from 2016
to 2017. And became a member of IIEE, TIP-Manila student
[23] J. Cross, "Why You Should Use Sleep Mode," 10 August 2009. [Online]. chapter since 2018.
Available:
https://www.pcworld.com/article/169941/Why_You_Should_Use_Slee
p_Mode.html.
Luis Emmanuel C. Pasicolan was
[24] S. Villinger, "Should You Shut Down, Sleep or Hibernate Your PC or born in Quezon City, Philippines on
Mac Laptop?," 3 May 2018. [Online]. Available:
https://www.avg.com/en/signal/should-you-shut-down-sleep-or- February 10, 1997. Currently taking
hibernate-your-pc-or-mac-laptop. Bachelor of Science in Electrical
Engineering at Technological
[25] T. Vartanian, "Which Is Better: Shutting Off Your PC or Putting It to Institute of the Philippines, Manila.
Sleep?," 13 February 2018. [Online]. Available:
https://www.maketecheasier.com/pc-shutdown-or-sleep/.
He has been a member of Institute of
Integrated Electrical Engineers of the
[26] Lenovo, "amazon.com," [Online]. Available: Philippines, TIP Manila student chapter since 2018.
https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkCentre-Computer-i3-8100T-
10T7003HUS/dp/B07GJTWXQ3. [Accessed 23 October 2019].

Sherlin Y. Fuentes was born in Dann Mark N. Ulitin was born in

Pandacan, Manila, Philippines on Laurel, Batangas, Philippines on
November 22, 1997. She is currently November 29, 1995. He is currently
taking Bachelor of Science in taking Bachelor of Science in
Electrical Engineering at Electrical Engineering (BSEE) at
Technological Institute of the Technological Institute of the
Philippines, Manila. She has been a Philippines, Manila.
member of Institute of Integrated In year 2016, he graduated in T.U.P.
Electrical Engineers of the Philippines, TIP Manila student
Manila with a course of Bachelor of Technology Major in
chapter since 2018. Mechatronics Technology (BTMT). And acquired his
Mechatronics Servicing NC II and NC III. Also, he has been a
licensed Registered Master Electrician since year 2016.
Lorenz Winston O. Malicdem was
born in Balagtas, Bulacan,
Philippines in July 29,1997. He
graduated with High Honor on his
high school in Philippine National
School, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. and is
currently taking Bachelor of Science
in Electrical Engineering at
Technological Institute of the
Philippines-Manila. He has been a
member of Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers of the
Philippines, TIP Manila student chapter since 2017.

John Michael M. Manansala was

born in Tondo, Manila, Philippines on
the 30th of October year 1997,
currently taking Bachelor of Science
in Electrical Engineering at
Technological Institute of the
Philippines, Manila.

From June 2016 to March 2017, he was the treasurer of IIEE –

University of Perpetual Help System DALTA Las Piñas