Making your computer more energy smart not only makes environmental sense, but monetary sense as well. The less power your computer uses, the lower your energy bill. If tweaking the multitude of power settings you can configure throughout your computer is not your thing, then give Edison a look.
Edison is a free application which allows you simply use a slider bar to configure your system power settings. By sliding the bar, Edison configures features such as sending your system into standby, turning your monitor off, etc. Addtionally, you can set schedules so your computer will automatically adjust the power settings according to the time. This can be ideal for office computers as you could, for example, set your computer to be very thrifty at 6 PM (when you are gone) and then have it set back to normal at 7 AM (before you get in). You probably wouldn’t even notice the difference.
While Edison will not be for everyone, it is definitely worth a look for those who don’t want to be ‘bothered’ with manually configuring power settings.
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Does using power saving modes increase the risk of hardware failure, due to increased power on/off cycling of drives, etc. ?
I read documents suggesting that the power on/off cycle is stressful compared to leaving everything running.
Debatable, much like the leave your computer on/turn it off at night choice.
In my opinion, it does no noticeable harm to the hardware. Think about it… you turn your TV/stereo/xbox/etc off or put it into standby mode without even thinking about it probably several times a day. The components inside of it heat up with use, so what separates it from a computer in this aspect?
If it does do harm, the hardware has probably outlived its usefulness long before the damage becomes apparent.