Use Less, Save More - 10 Easy Ways to Reduce Energy Use in the Office

The most valuable kilowatt hour is the one you nevercomputers and monitors, you can save approximately
use. That's a great way to think about the pay-off of$60 in electricity costs per machine each year,
making your office more energy efficient. Rememberaccording to the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. A
that every dollar you save on your utility bill dropsfree, downloadable energy-monitoring application from
straight to your bottom line. The money you save canVerdiem called Edison allows you to control the energy
be kept as profit, shared with employees, orused by your PC and shows you the results by
reinvested in your business to make it even morecalculating your estimated savings based on the
competitive and appealing to your customers.settings you choose.
Lighting, space heating and office equipment account7. Turn off peripherals such as printers, scanners and
for more than 70 percent of all energy used in aspeakers when not in use. Automatically turn off your
typical office setting, according to survey informationaccessories when you shut down your computer by
released by the Energy Information Administration. Asusing smart power strips that detect when the main
energy prices steadily increase year after year, withswitched equipment, like your PC, is shut down. You
no end to these increasing costs in sight, the savingscan also plug all your electronics into one power strip
you realize by reducing your energy consumption nowand turn the strip off when you are finished using your
will only become more valuable in the future.computer. For added convenience, some power strips
Here are 10 quick tips to reduce the energy consumedwork with a remote control.
by the lighting, heating system and office equipment in8. Don't use a screensaver. Screen savers, originally
your office, which are the top three categories thatdeveloped to prevent etching of patterns on older
consume the bulk of energy in a typical officemonochrome monitors, are not necessary on modern
environment:monitors, but they are still used for aesthetics and
1. Switch to compact fluorescent lighting when possible.entertainment. They actually consume more energy
Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs use about 75than allowing the monitor to dim or go into sleep mode
percent less energy and last about 10 times longerwhen it's not in use. Bottom line, don't use them at all, or
than an incandescent bulb that gives the same amountat least set the screen saver "wait time" to less than
of visible light. In the United States, a compactthe period of time after which the monitor enters sleep
fluorescent light bulb costs more initially but can savemode.
about $30 USD over its lifetime and pays for itself in9. Use a laptop instead of a desktop computer. A
about 6 months.desktop computer typically consumes twice the
2. Turn off the lights if no one is in the room for morepower that a laptop uses. That's because energy
than 5 minutes. Why light a room at all if no one isconsumption is a critical factor in the design of a laptop
there to use it? It's a good idea to install automaticcomputer, since extended battery life is key to keeping
dimming switches or motion sensor switches in all thethe laptop user happy. As a result, laptops use more
rooms of your office or shop.energy efficient CPUs, hard disks, displays and other
3. Install reflectors in your lighting fixtures. Get the mostcomponents. So buy a machine that sips watts when
out of the lighting equipment you already have byit's plugged in, instead of one that guzzles power from
installing reflectors in your lighting fixtures. You canthe wall socket.
reduce your lighting needs up to 50 percent by making10. Buy Energy Star qualified products for your office.
this simple modification to your existing system.Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental
4. Control the temperature of your office. In the winter,Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy,
set your thermostat to 68 degrees during the day andprovides a label on thousands of models of products
55 degrees at night, and 75 degrees in the summer,for the office and home that have met Energy Star
with a relative humidity of 55 percent or less. Be sureenergy efficiency criteria. These products deliver the
to install programmable thermostats in each heatingsame or better performance as comparable models
and cooling zone. Cover and lock all thermostats towhile using less energy and saving money. A new
prevent tampering. The hassle of occasional grousingEnergy Star compliant PC or laptop, for example, uses
by employees who may want to make adjustments15 to 25 percent less energy on average than a
will be more than offset by lower utility bills and thestandard new computer.
good you are doing for the planet in the long run.So where to begin in your quest to save dollars by
5. Maintain good air flow. Don't make your heating andreducing energy consumption in your office? It's
cooling system work any harder than it must to keepalways a good idea to start with an inventory of what
everyone comfortable. Walk around your facility andyou are spending now on energy. Audit current
unblock all heating and cooling registers. Have yourpractices then put a plan in place to improve your
maintenance crew check for and repair any leakyoperations in a systematic fashion. Measure the results
ductwork. At the beginning and end of every season,of your efforts so you can track progress along the
make sure condenser coils are clean.way in order to make any necessary adjustments to
6. Put your office computers and copy machines inyou plan. You'll likely be surprised at how quickly your
sleep mode or shut them off after hours. By properlysavings start to grow as you tighten up the use of
adjusting the power management settings built intoenergy throughout your organization.