Office Energy Saving Ideas, Tips and Advice
There are loads of ways to save energy around the office, here are some ideas and tips that will reduce your energy bills and your impact on the environment.
Electrical and Facilities Equipment
Tips and advice on saving electricity and energy around the office
- Switch off computers, monitors, fax machines and printers when they are not in use and when you leave the office. Computer monitors use the same energy when they are on screensaver mode, and they still use power when on standby mode, so turn of your monitor if at all possible. There is also computer software that can automatically turn off functions of your PC to reduce their electricity use.
- Energy saving light bulbs can last twice as long as standard light bulbs (some last up to 8 times!), and strip light bulbs like compact fluorescent bulbs use over 70% less energy than standard strip lights. So you save energy and money!
- When replacing any electrical equipment look for Energy Star models, which are designed to be more energy efficient than standard equipment. many include sleep and auto switch-off modes.
- Don’t leave mobile phone and laptop chargers plugged in when they’re not in use. Chargers use almost the same amount of energy as normal when they are plugged in but not in use. Use your laptop battery when it is charged, this saves energy and increases the life of your battery.
- Try to replace desktop PCs with laptops. They use far less energy and have the additional advantage of being portable!
- Don’t heat the kettle just for yourself, it uses lots of power. Offer your workmates one and reduce the number of times the kettle needs to boil! Only fill the kettle with as much water as you need to use, a full kettle takes more power to boil than a half full kettle.
- Inkjet printers use up to 80% less power than other printer types so try and use them when possible. The quality of inkjet printers is now very high so there they are perfectly fine for most office applications.
- Lifts use loads of power so take the stairs!
- Get into the habit of turning of lights in areas not in use, and when you leave the office at the end of the day. Fitting motion sensitive lighting in the office is a great way of saving energy and they are effective in car parks too.
