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Should I Turn Off My Monitor at Night?

As an owner of multiple monitors, I have often found myself debating whether or not to turn them off at night. It can be a difficult decision to make, especially when you don’t know the potential consequences of either option. After becoming increasingly frustrated with this dilemma, I decided to do some research and testing to find out the best course of action. Through my experience, I have come to some conclusions that I would like to share with you. In this blog post, I will discuss the pros and cons of leaving your monitor on overnight and explain why I believe turning it off at night should be the preferred option.

The answer to the question will depend on the age of the monitor and how you use it. For older devices, it’s best to keep them on to avoid lengthy boot-up processes. Other than that, if you plan on using the monitor again through the night, it may be best to keep it on.

TopicInformation
What happens when you turn off a monitor?Shutdown: Powers down electrical components
Idle: Screen goes dark, running processes expire, microprocessor remains on
Why should you turn off your monitor?Reduces energy consumption, eliminates constant alert tones, improves performance with occasional reboots
Why should you keep your monitor on?Allows remote server access, runs diagnostics and optimizes performance, avoids lengthy boot-up times for older devices
Alternatives to turning off your monitorSleep mode: Similar to idle mode but uses slightly less power
Hibernate mode: Stops power consumption but keeps background processes running, which may overload the device over time
ConclusionWhether to turn off a monitor depends on its age and usage. Turning it off saves energy and allows the device to rest, while leaving it on enables diagnostics and optimizations.

What Happens When You Turn Off Your Monitor?

When you get a new monitor, one of your goals is to make sure it lasts as long as possible. Some people think they can do that by shutting it down every night, but this doesn’t always work.

To help clarify this, let’s take a look at what happens to the monitor when you turn it off.

Shutdown

As soon as you hit the shutdown button, the monitor will begin to power down. It’ll run through any active processes and turn them off.

Then, the monitor will send a signal to a microprocessor and tell it to go to sleep for the night.

By the end of this, all the electrical components inside the monitor are off.

Idle

What happens when you turn off the monitor by letting it go idle?

For starters, the screen will go dark after a while. Next, any running process will expire after about an hour or so.

At this point, the microprocessor is still on and will remain so until you turn it off. This is what keeps your LED indicators blinking while the monitor is idle.

That means this electrical component will continue to drain energy and wait for you to come back.

Then, when you move around your mouse, the screen will jump back into action and light up.

Why Should You Turn Off Your Monitor?

There are a few reasons why you should turn off your monitor before you hit the hay. For starters, it’ll have an impact on your electric bill.

As we mentioned, when you don’t turn off a monitor, the microprocessor inside will keep running. While the component doesn’t require much power, it’ll still use some.

So, that means that as long as the monitor isn’t off, it’ll use a bit of energy.

Other than that, the monitor will keep sending you notifications as long as it’s on. So, the constant alert tones may make falling asleep a little challenging. 

Finally, turning off the monitor can help improve its performance. An occasional reboot will regulate the device’s temperature and allow it to update.

As a general rule, you should only turn off your monitor if you no longer plan on using it again through the night.

Why Should You Keep Your Monitor On?

Turning off your monitor every night may not be the best way to take care of the device. There are a few reasons why you should keep it on instead. 

For example, it allows you to use your computer as a remote server. That means you can access the monitor from anywhere in the world using the help of an app, like TeamViewer.

Besides that, leaving the monitor on gives your computer a chance to run diagnostics. The device will scan for viruses and work on optimizing performance.

Lastly, if your monitor stays operational, you don’t have to wait for it to boot up. This can be incredibly useful, especially for older devices that need a while to start up.

For these reasons, you should keep your monitor on only if you need to use it again. 

What Are the Alternatives to Turning Off Your Monitor at Night?

Instead of turning off your monitor, you can put it to sleep. This is similar to the idle mode but uses slightly less power. 

That’s a halfway point between on and off, so you’ll get the best of both worlds.

Another solution is to activate the hibernate mode. In this state, the monitor will stop consuming power altogether.

However, it won’t shut down the processes running in the background. This will have a negative effect on the device, since it may overload it after a while.

Conclusion

Should I turn off my monitor at night? The answer will depend on the age of your screen and how you use it.

With the screen off, you won’t consume any extra power and you give the device a chance to rest. However, you may have to deal with a long boot-up process to use the monitor in the morning. 

On the other hand, if you leave the device on, you’ll allow it to scan for viruses and optimize performance.