Save Time and Energy with a Faster Network

Energy saving is all about using energy in a smarter way, and of course less of it.

So the sooner your IT equipment in the home such as PC's, laptops, printers and much more besides, can carry out and complete a task, the faster you can reach the point where you can turn it off. And to do that it helps if your home network is working really efficiently.

Here are a couple of ideas you may like to consider to speed up your network...

Cable vs Wireless

Connect devices using an Ethernet cable where possible. We know that cables can be a tripping point and affect your ability to move around. However they should - unless you have quite old equipment - be able to transport your data between devices and a broadband router at twice the rate of a wireless connection. From a security perspective, cable connections also reduce the threat of eavesdropping, which is a problem when using wireless.

Wireless Channel Selection

In the UK, wireless routers can operate on any one of 13 different channels. Each channel has a pre-defined frequency, irrespective of the router's manufacturer.

And when you install a router you will probably decide not to change the configuration, other than enter a username and password. This means the router will use its default wireless channel setting. If everyone does this, dependent on the choice of router manufacturer, you will all probably end up communicating on the same channels.

This means that if your router uses Channel 1, and your next door neighbour's router is also operating on Channel 1, it will receive each both parties data and have to sort out which information belongs to who. If your security is set correctly you will not be able to see each other's data, but the router will be forced to do extra work to sort things out

This is a bit like trying to speak to someone at a party where there is a lot of background noise. In other words you will have trouble understanding each other unless you can find a gap in the noise in which to speak, or you can start shouting. You will almost certainly ask them at some point to repeat themselves.

The answer could be to go into another room; the equivalent of choosing a totally different channel from everyone else. And that is what you may like to consider. Your wireless connection is already operating at half the theoretical speed of a cable (54Mbs vs 100MBps). And where neighbouring routers are operating on the same channel, this will only make them even slower.

So why not find out what wireless channels your neighbours are using, and consider configuring your router to use a totally different one.

There are of course lots of possible reasons for slow wireless or other Internet response time issues, but this may help to eliminate one possible cause from the equation. And of course you could save energy as well as become more productive and reduce stress levels.

(This article is published by the Energy Saving Centre on behalf of Village Internet - helping businesses and domestic users get the most from their IT and the Internet)