Thanks to Jaymi Heimbuch, planet green, Discovery Channel, for recommending Power Manager. Jaymi lists DssW Power Manager as a easy solution for reducing the power consumption of your computer.

Planet Green, Discovery Channel

Even in sleep mode, computers use up a lot of energy. But there are easy solutions—even easier than having an eco-button—for sending your computer into sleep mode more quickly to cut back on its energy consumption, or shutting it down altogether at a scheduled time so that phantom power is avoided.
Jaymi Heimbuch, Planet Green, Discovery Channel

You can download and try Power Manager for free for thirty days.

Great news for Canadian BC Hydro business customers. BC Hydro have added DssW Power Manager to their Product Incentive Programme (PIP).

DssW Power Manager join’s BC Hydro Product Incentive Programme

As a BC Hydro business customer, you can now purchase DssW Power Manager with an effective rebate of $6 CAD per Mac. This incentive programme is run by BC Hydro to promote the use of energy saving technology.

To qualify for BC Hydro’s incentive, you must purchase your DssW Power Manager licences through your local DssW Authorised Reseller, Macinhome.

For those keeping track, we celebrated this news with homemade chocolate cupcakes.

If you are looking to reduce your carbon footprint, you have probably discovered carbon offsetting. You can pay to extra to offset everything from insurance to flights. Don’t, not yet.

I don’t want the airline to plant trees on my behalf when I fly. Planting trees is nice, but I want the airlines to invest in developing low-emission fuel.

JCDeux’s Velo bike hiring scheme in Lyon, France

Before you buy carbon offset credits, try these easy steps. You will reduce your carbon footprint, and you will save money.

1. Change all of your light bulbs to energy efficient ones. It is tempting to wait until your old incandescent bulbs go out, but you will save yourself money in the long run if you change them today.
2. Turn off electrical items such as lights, televisions, radios, and computers. As you leave a room, take a moment to look around and see what you can turn off. If you can turn it off at the wall, even better.
3. Drive less. Start by making one less trip to the supermarket each week, or try walking instead of taking the car for short trips.
4. Turn down your heating/cooling. Set the thermostat a couple of degrees cooler in winter and a couple of degrees warmer in summer.
5. Use cold water in the washing machine. Your clothes will still come out clean; there are washing powders designed for cold water. After washing, hang up your clothes to dry, instead of using the dryer.

Power Manager 3.7 includes a new wake action. The wake action lets you schedule an event to wake your Mac from sleep. If your Mac is switched off, the wake event is quietly skipped and your Mac remains switched off.

Power Manager 3’s new Wake icon

We added the wake event to improve the typical office energy schedule. An office routine generally includes regular periods of energy saving sleep for coffee breaks and lunch.

Macs in offices tend to be used throughout the day on the default schedule, or turned off after the owner leaves early or reports in sick. So the three most common office situations are:

1. Typical office day;
2. Staff member leaves early;
3. Staff member reports in sick.

Power Manager handles the first situation well, the Mac stays on and follows the schedule - sleeping, waking, and shutting down as desired.

The second situation was less than ideal. Shutting down a Mac with an office schedule typcially led to the Mac starting itself back up after a scheduled coffee break or lunch. While this behaviour absolutely met the scheduler’s aim, it jarred with the real world.

By adding a wake action, Power Manager schedules can now include sleep and wake pairs, rather than sleep and start-up-or-wake pairs. A short period of sleep need no longer end with a start-up-or-wake action. This change is subtle but makes a real difference.

Power-managed office Macs can now be shut down earlier than their schedule expects and they will remain turned off until the next day. The additional energy saving is noticable, and the behaviour no longer jars with real world.

Power Manager 3’s Schedule Assistant

The Schedule Assistant with Power Manager contains a good office schedule. I use a tweaked edition of this schedule; I add an earlier start on Tuesdays and Fridays for my foolishly early hour exercise routine.

If you use your Mac for work, I recommend giving this kind of office schedule a try. Fans of Getting Things Done will find the prompted routine particularly helpful.

Power Manager 3 is available to buy and download today.