My monitor (a not very new IBM (really Sony trinitron, rebadged) does turn itself off when told to do so by the computer. You can have Windows go into screensaver mode after an assigned period of time, and, you can also have it go into power-saving mode. You get to pick your option, i.e., turn off monitor, spin-down hard drives, put CPU into "sleep" mode, etc. You can even have it put the whole computer into "hibernate" mode -- that means it saves your entire memory to a "core dump" type storage, and then turns itself off. When you turn it back on, you're right where you were when it hibernated. (Even if you physically pull the plug out after going into hibernation mode!)
Nitpicking! ;^)
How much more money would just turning it "OFF" when you leave for the night save per year?
Don't get me wrong, I use screen savers to, well, save my screen display from burned in ghost images.
That alone justifies the technology, IMHO.
But OFF is the answer, in most home and all non 24/7 business applications.
I have my monitor turn off after 45 min. of inactivity. It really does turn itself off -- there is an audible sound when the relay shuts the power off to the computer.
Oh, you say? There must be some power being drawn, so that it can turn itself back on when so directed by the computer?
Yup. A few microwatts. How much power does your wristwatch draw? How long does its tiny battery last? The circuitry to "listen" for a "turn back on" signal is on a similar level. The amount of current it draws is miniscule.
Turning off ... ahem, "unplugging" applicances that draw wristwatch-level current is a pure-BS "feelgood" activity. It's something for the sheep to do to make them feel like they're doing something. Dig a hole, fill it in.
The amount of power you "save" by shutting your system down, as opposed to allowing it to sit there in power-saving/standby mode, will be MORE than wasted when you have the momentary power surge the appliances draw when you turn them back on.
In addition, the constant off/on/off/on cycling will cause a lot more stress to the systems than leaving them running.
But hey, screw all that. Run around like obedient little "greenie-lite" folk, pulling plugs, then plugging them back in, over and over. If everyone does it, who knows? Maybe it'll save enough power to keep a lightbulb running for ten minutes!
Lord Mayor Bloomie can have a special lightbulb display in City Hall Park. Once a month, he can have a big ceremony, where schoolkids parade by, democrat politicians give speeches (about how they'd like to punch out the next white guy they see, and, about the wunderz of unplugging and plugging and unplugging ad absurdium), and then, once the sun goes down, a lottery winner can hit the big switch, and turn the light on for ten minutes, to demonstrate the SAVINGS delivered by all the obedient little...
LOL!
I am so blankety-blankety-glad I moved OUT of The Bad Apple some 35 odd years ago!