Windows 7 has officially arrived and is available in retail or for download online at the Microsoft Store. We’ve posted earlier about the power management improvements in Windows7, and as we stated energy efficiency was a core principle in the design of Windows 7 as designers considered scenarios both when the PC is in use and when it is turned off. All of these improvements will help you save energy and save money.

With many of the improvements considered to be “under the hood”, we wanted to highlight them again today on the big launch day. We thought we’d provide you with our top 5 environmental considerations for upgrading to Windows 7:

1. When a Windows 7 PC is idle (i.e. not in use) for more than a few minutes, Windows 7 begins to take action to save energy. First, thanks to a new feature called Adaptive Display Brightness, the display dims. A short while later the display turns off and finally because the Sleep feature is on by default, your PC will go into a low power state, saving you money on your energy bill and reducing your carbon footprint. All within a 15 minute time period, as defined by Energy Star 5.0.
   
2. Why should a PC draw power from the network adapter if a network cable is not plugged in? With new networking power improvements, Windows 7 will automatically place the network adapter into a low-power state when a user disconnects his or her network cable. This is just one example of many including savings with DVD and audio playback all resulting in lower power consumption and helping extend your battery life.
   
3. New diagnostics tools in Windows 7 will help improve IT administrators’ ability to diagnose and troubleshoot power problems across their enterprises. For example, the diagnostic tools can help determine which applications or devices are negatively impacting energy efficiency and how much normal degradation has occurred to the battery of a mobile PC. These tools are for more technical users and will enable more efficient power management of PCs across organizations.
   
4. If your PC is less than a few years old, you can simply upgrade to Windows 7 and do not need to purchase a new PC. According to Softchoice, 88 percent of corporate PCs it has under management meet the minimum system requirements of Windows 7. Of those not equipped to run Windows 7, the majority would simply need more RAM and hard drive upgrade. Only one percent of their PCs would require replacement.
   
5. If you are in the market for a new PC, there’s a wider selection of EPEAT and Energy Star rated PC’s on the market and you won’t have to pay a premium for a “greener” PC.

To learn more about upgrading or to purchase a copy, visit the Windows 7 page.