Want to be green, but are afraid to turn off your Wi-Fi router? Me too. Though now there are three new wireless network routers from D-Link with some cool energy-saving features. 

D-Link’s Xtreme DIR-655 N Gigabit Router ($150), DIR-855 N Duo Media Router ($360) and DGL-4500N Gaming Router ($240) feature D-Link’s Green Ethernet technology that can save up to 41-percent in electricity usage when compared with a conventional router. The Green Ethernet technology detects link status and network cable length, then adjusts the power accordingly. D-Link’s Green Ethernet technology is also used in D-Links’s gigabit DGS-2200 series desktop switches.

D-Link says its green Wi-Fi routers achieve optimal energy savings when used with their Wi-Fi Scheduler feature, which provide a radio shutdown option with adjustable start and end times. Under the most favorable conditions, with no wired links active and Wi-Fi turned off, D-Link says power savings of up to 32-percent with the DIR-655, up to 41 percent with the DIR-855, and up to 31 percent with the DGL-4500 may be achieved.

The new D-Link routers also support Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), a much larger address space that allows greater flexibility in allocating addresses and routing traffic, offering benefits such as hierarchical addressing structure, additional security and greater mobility. 

The DIR-655, DIR-855 and DGL-4500 are all available now through retail outlets, solution providers and at the company’s online store, www.dlinkshop.com.

Steven Castle - Contributing Writer

Steven Castle is Electronic House's managing editor. he has been writing about consumer electronics, homes and energy efficiency topics for two decades. He is also the co-founder of GreenTech Advocates.