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Here's the true story - SetPower isn't a magic wand. In simple terms it's a computer power management application. Using SetPower you can time your computer to go to sleep or make it wake up. The secret behind it are power schedules which let you control your computer's on and off cycle.

Thus, cutting down on energy waste, cutting down on your energy bills and cutting down the pangs you might have for spoiling the environment.

Are you one of those who should use SetPower?

  • You use computers throughout the day.
  • You use Windows' own power feature but you want more fine-tuned control over it.
  • You want your computer to be instantly ready for action when you want it to.
  • You forget to shut off the computer after the day's work.

If you have any of these attributes or all of them, then the SetPower computer power management application is worth a try. SetPower returns control to the user who missed having a time bound power management feature bundled with Windows. SetPower enhances the capabilities of the in-built Power management settings by letting the user set it by the clock.

Starting with the installation, let's take a look at how it does its bit for the environment.

Setup starts with an installer which downloads the full installation. SetPower installs as a Control Panel applet and occupies a minuscule 435KB of space.

  • Energy saving starts with adding Power Plan Schedules.
1_First-Screen
  • Scheduled power plans can be set up for specific times of the day and specific days of the week. SetPower monitors the power source - direct or battery and manages the response accordingly. SetPower  uses the Task Scheduler to trigger the timers behind the power saving operations.
2_Add-Scheduled-Plan
  • Computer power management can be according to three schemes or modes - Balanced, Power Saver and High Performance. SetPower can be set to turn the display off, go to sleep mode, and hibernate by time of day and day of week for any of the three modes.
  • SetPower also provides an easily configurable way using two typical wizards. The wizards are simple one step solutions to set power plans based on the active and inactive times of computer usage. For instance, a high performance power plan is a fit for peak working hours while the sleep mode can kick in when the computer is left idle.
3_Using-Wizard
  • Using the first wizard, a user needs to set times for his active usage and another for an inactive time like late at night.
4_First-Wizard

Using the second wizard, a user can set the power schedules around his daily activity as shown in the screenshot.

5_Second-Wizard

The set power plans does not stop the user from using his computer the normal way against the preset schedules. The power plans also can be modified by double clicking and changing the times.

Applying SetPower to save

To save on energy costs first and the environment second seems like a good idea. The developers claim that SetPower can help save $10/month or $120/year by changing how you use your computer during the day and night. That's an attractive thought for a person who doesn't use the Shut Down button too much.

As a small freeware (only for personal use), SetPower has lots going for it. An easily configurable interface with simple time based settings. SetPower also works along with the in-built computer power management feature in Windows. Both AC and battery supply are covered in the scheme of things.

So for simplicity's sake and for drip by drip power savings, SetPower is set and on.

Some essential requirements for SetPower are:

  • NET Framework 2.0
  • ACPI Compliant Hardware (Standby or Sleep should be an option in the Windows shutdown dialog)

SetPower is free for personal use and is compatible with Windows XP, Vista and 7.

Image Credit: orocain