I find it reassuring to see my desktop computer save energy (and whatever else) by going into "sleep" mode when I don't use it for ten minutes or so. The screen goes dark; the hard drive stops spinning; things become noticeably quieter; etc. Maybe this actually accomplishes little more than appealing to my "preservationist" impulses. I don't really know.

I thought it might make sense to do something similar with my Stern pinball - if it's at all possible. What I do now is to simply open and leave open the coindoor. I can power the machine down, obviously, but then I have to boot it up again later when it's time to play again, something that's at least a little taxing on the CPU. Leaving it on and in attract mode uses energy and - to a small degree - generates heat and wears out parts like bulbs/SMD's or even processors that choreograph the light show. By opening the coindoor, the high-voltage power to the playfield is cut off, turning all lights there off. The backbox stays lit (to whatever intensity is has been set) and the cooling fan will cycle on/off periodically. Is this a reasonable way to make your game "sleep" when you're not using it for an hour or two? Is it somehow more injurious to the game than simply powering it off/on? I'm only trying to take care of my game and use less energy if I can. Thoughts?