Being energy conscious at work improves the bottom line of the company and the health of the environment. The key is not underestimating the power and savings of the obvious.

• Turn up the thermostat. Adjusting up by just a few degrees can translate to thousands of dollars in savings each month and year.
• Always use Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) or LED bulbs instead of incandescent lights.
• Switch off all unnecessary lights.
• Use natural lighting as much as possible.
• When working late, use task lighting to directly illuminate work areas.
• Unplug equipment that drains energy even when not in use (such as cell phone chargers, fans, coffeemakers, desktop printers, radios, etc;).
• Wait to switch on printers and computers until you need them.

• Monitors account for 70% of the PCs energy use and screen savers do not save energy. Turn off monitors when not in use or put it in standby mode. Turning a monitor on and off will use a fraction of energy than what it is used when kept running.
• The same holds true for the PC. Regularly turning a PC off not only saves energy but also extends the machines life due to a reduction in mechanical wear.
• PCs and monitors do not automatically go in to sleep mode – you have to activate the PC energy saving functions. Windows 2000 and XP offer this energy saving feature. Find it in the power options inside the control panel. Make sure the power scheme is set to Energy Star. Select a time for the monitor to power down. Ten minutes is a good choice. Select a time for the computer to go into standby. Choose 20 minutes. Click ‘ok’.
• Turn off your office equipment at the end of the work day.
• Consider an energy efficient server. The new T1000 and T2000 servers from Sun Microsystems offer information technology a chance to join the energy efficiency movement by using one-half to one-third the energy of competing servers.
• Use Energy Star products.
• Close or tilt window blinds to block direct sunlight to reduce cooling needs.
• Photocopy only what you need.
• Always use the second side of paper, either by printing on both sides or using the blank side as scrap paper.
• Use coffee mugs instead of disposable cups.
• Eliminate plastic water bottles; reuse a glass or plastic cup for water.

 

SOME WORK RELATED ENERGY FACTS & FIGURES

• Switching off a typical fluorescent light for one hour in each working day will save 30,000 grams of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
• Lighting an empty office overnight wastes enough energy to heat water for 1,000 cups of coffee.
• Switching off all non-essential office equipment (computers, printers, faxes, photocopiers and lights) will save enough energy to drive a small car 100 miles.
• A PC monitor left on overnight wastes enough energy to laser print 800 pages.
• A PC left running for 24 hours per day costs hundreds of extra dollars each year.