| Your home office can be a huge source of wasted | | | | 10 minutes of inactivity. This way your computer will still |
| energy if you're not careful. With all of those electronic | | | | be available, but it won't be using so much power all |
| devices, it's easy to spend a lot on powering your | | | | the time. |
| office. If you're concerned about your energy bill and | | | | Speaking of powering down, make it a habit to turn off |
| your carbon usage, it's important that you get your | | | | your printer, fax machine or scanner when they aren't |
| power situation under control. Fortunately, there are a | | | | in use. If you leave them on all the time, they are |
| few simple steps that you can use to make your | | | | draining power when you don't need them. Many |
| office energy efficient. | | | | machines and appliances will still draw power from the |
| The first step, if you haven't already done this already, | | | | source, even when they are turned off. Put your office |
| is to change all the lighting in your home office from | | | | equipment on a power strip, so that you can switch |
| standard light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs. Most | | | | off the electricity to all appliances at once. These |
| people do this throughout the house all at once. CFLs | | | | devices don't take that long to power up and it's just |
| use less energy and last up to five times as long as | | | | easier to get them up and running when you need |
| regular bulbs, so it's worth the extra cost associated | | | | them instead of leaving them on all of the time. |
| with them. | | | | If you're really serious about energy consumption, you |
| The biggest power usage in your office probably | | | | could hire a professional energy auditor to come and |
| comes from your computer. If you're using a desktop | | | | evaluate your office for energy issues. However, |
| model, it's important that you make the switch from a | | | | there's a new device available called Kill-A-Watt that |
| CRT monitor to an energy-saving LCD flat screen | | | | can help you do the same thing for much less money. |
| monitor as soon as possible. Although this can be | | | | The Kill-A-Watt device plugs into the wall, and then |
| expensive, you can find a good monitor for under | | | | you plug your power strips and electronics into the |
| $200. This switch will save you even more on energy | | | | device. The device will track how much energy is |
| costs. | | | | being used by each electronic so you know where |
| You can also save energy (and money) by changing | | | | you can cut back and how much you are actually |
| the way that you use your computer. If you are | | | | using. For about $40, it's are an excellent example of |
| accustomed to leaving your computer on 24/7, you | | | | spending a little to save a lot. |
| are setting yourself up for having an energy usage | | | | With a few purchases and a few changes in your |
| problem in your office. You need to shut down your | | | | habits, your office can be energy efficient. It's important |
| computer each day when you are done using it. If you | | | | that you not let the trend stop here. Once you've |
| pop off and on the computer several times per day, | | | | learned the basics of energy efficiency, take this habit |
| as many people do, you should set up your computer's | | | | to the rest of your house and you'll be surprised with a |
| automatic timing so that it goes into sleep mode after | | | | lower energy bill. |
