Living off grid here on the side of Spanish mountain as we do energy consumption is always a concern. Now, before I start I will admit that I did not buy as energy efficient a laptop as I might have. We had to get one the other week because our “old faithful” of 5 plus years finally decided is was time to move on to the electronic graveyard. To be honest the logistics of getting mail shipped here is a nightmare. I have lost track of the amount of gifts and parcels that simply never turn up at our post office box in town so I was not about to risk it for expensive electronic equipment. Instead I did the decent thing and bought the cheapest laptop I could find instead. Me, being cheap and frugal? Unheard of I know!!!!
Anyhow. I thought it might be of use to readers to know what some of the most energy efficient laptops are. I am being real here. You can get loads of energy efficient laptops with an 11″ screen but anything as small as 11 inches doesn’t do it for me. Um, that really did not come out very well did it? To re-phrase, a small screen is just not suitable in my opinion if the laptop is to be used at home to actually use as a main computer. For on the move then they may be fine. If I am wrong then let me know. You can view the small screen energy efficient laptops HERE
For me a decent laptop means a 15″ and nothing less. See, no innuendo at all. Good boy me.
So what is the most energy efficient laptop that is actually suitable for using as your main source of reading the fabulous site all about Self Sufficiency?
The Gateway NV7802u 17.3-Inch Black Laptop actually surprised me quite a bit. For just over $600 it has a five hour battery life which is pretty incredible. And it has a massive screen which was very surprising. It also has windows 7 which I invented (um, do they have that advert in the US?) if not, ignore that. The windows 7 thing is supposed to be good but I am just happy we finally upgraded to vista basic after our old laptop which was running on windows 1986 or whatever it was that made using it feel like trying to get a tank to become a ballet dancer. The Gateway nv7802u reviews are glowing as well and it blows many that are twice the price out of da water.
I think that for the money and the fact that it has a good sized screen and a very long battery life it is one of the best energy efficient laptops out there. Of course there are probably more energy efficient models available but sometimes that simply doesn’t make sense. Allow me to ramble.
For me personally I see nothing energy efficient about super A rated products if they are twice the price. Okay, maybe we could get a slightly more energy efficient product if we spent double the money. The fact is though that most people go out to work, apart from us, and this means they earn their money working hard. If getting a more energy efficient product means more driving and more work (unless you knit yogurt for a living)then it simply does not make sense. There is only so much money you will save on electric bills by getting a better rated product and if the cost means that you will never see that return then it is a falsehood to call it more energy efficient.
The price must be reasonable for it to make sense. Anyway, that was my rant for the day, or at least the morning anyway. Check out the laptop if you are looking for something with a long battery life and a decent screen at a good price and has Windows 7 (which I invented).
Please note technology changes faster than Mr Dirty Boots can type so by now there will be far more incredibly high powered energy efficient laptops available!
Looks like a great setup. I have a question. Is the power consumption wattage equal or less than your old laptop? I would think that with the modern processors being more efficient it would be about the same.
I have two IBM ThinkPads, one Pentium III and one Pentium IV and they both utilize a 16volt 4.5 amp power adapter. (72watts)
Jef
Our new laptop uses 65 watts. But also, compared to the old one the battery capacity is much longer. It goes hours within needing to be charged, the old laptop, even with a new battery was never very efficient.
The Gateway has lots of good reviews, but as an Apple fan I want to point out that the newer Macbooks are also very energy efficient with a 7 hour battery life, but alas more expensive at $1000.
Jim
That is the thing, how energy efficient are they if they cost so much initially, it’s the same with many more efficient appliances. Is it actually better to stick with the old appliance until the very end?
Wow. Up to a 5 hour battery life for an ultra efficient laptop. Pretty amazing. It’s nice to see electronics slowly becomming more environmentally friendly. I can’t wait until we have ultra long laptops that last 3-5 days before needing a recharge. Maybe they’ll come out with technology that will wirelessly recharge our machines. Who knows. It’ll take a closely look at the Gateway NV7802u system to see how it looks.
Well, energy efficiency is always a bit of a performance vs battery life decision. Although I enjoy the flexibility, I personally wouldn’t want to pay for it by having to use a less bright, smaller screen, less graphics power or similar. About time for a new generation of laptop batteries in my opinion.