How to Reduce Your Energy Consumption
Turn off all lights in your office at the end of the night., Adjust the thermostat in your office based on the season., Buy or lease computer monitors with energy saving features., Ask your supervisor about switching to green power., Carpool to the...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Turn off all lights in your office at the end of the night.
To conserve electricity, make sure all the lights in your office are turned off, including bathrooms, kitchen areas, and meeting rooms.
You should also try to switch off lights in a room if you plan to be out of there for longer than a few minutes at a time.During the day, you can maximize natural daylight by using natural light instead of overhead or fluorescent lights.
Switching off one fluorescent light for one hour a day can save 30 kg of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
You may also want to look at areas where there is excessive lighting or lights that are turned on in rooms that are barely used.
Have these lights removed or suggest the lights are not used if daylight is enough.
As well, you can suggest to your supervisor that light bulbs be switched to energy saving bulbs, such as LED bulbs, if possible. -
Step 2: Adjust the thermostat in your office based on the season.
You can conserve your heating use by setting the thermostat in the office at different temperatures in the winter and in the summer.
In the winter, keep the thermostat at 68 degrees or less during the day and at 55 degrees at night when no one is in the office.
In the summer, keeping thermostat at 78 degrees or more will also help to reduce energy use in the office.In the winter, it can also be useful to keep shades and blinds open in the office during a sunny day.
This will heat the room naturally.
You should then close the blinds at night to reduce the amount of heat lost via the windows.
In the summer, keep shades and blinds closed to avoid overheating the room and when the air conditioner is in use. , Many newer computers will have built in energy saving features that can reduce the amount of electricity used by your office.
If you’ve been using the same desktop for 10 years, consider upgrading to a new version that has energy saving features.
Not only will this promote energy savings, it will also show up as savings on the office’s electricity bill.You can also encourage everyone in the office to make sure their computers have the power down option set as well as the hibernation option set.
Keep in mind screen savers do not save energy.
In fact, they are energy wasters, as your computer has to provide twice as much energy to light up your computer screen when using a screen saver.
Remind everyone in the office to turn off their computers, as well as copiers and other electronic equipment when they’re done for the day or when they are not using them.
Shutting off your computer will not shorten itself lifespan and can save high amounts of energy. , GreenPower is a program offered by some energy providers to reduce your home or office’s carbon footprint in Australia, the United States, and Canada.
GreenPower providers are part of a government accredited program to use clean, renewable electricity in homes and offices and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Your supervisor can contact your office’s energy company and ask them if they can provide GreenPower to the office to reduce the office’s energy consumption on a daily basis. , You can cut down on your energy use by adjusting your daily commute.
Carpooling with co workers will keep one more car off the road and reduce the amount of energy you use via fuel.
Biking to work everyday also means you are using kinetic energy, not electric or fuel based energy, to get around.Public transit is also a great way to limit your energy consumption.
Many city buses run on eco friendly fuel. -
Step 3: Buy or lease computer monitors with energy saving features.
-
Step 4: Ask your supervisor about switching to green power.
-
Step 5: Carpool to the office
-
Step 6: ride your bike
-
Step 7: or take public transit.
Detailed Guide
To conserve electricity, make sure all the lights in your office are turned off, including bathrooms, kitchen areas, and meeting rooms.
You should also try to switch off lights in a room if you plan to be out of there for longer than a few minutes at a time.During the day, you can maximize natural daylight by using natural light instead of overhead or fluorescent lights.
Switching off one fluorescent light for one hour a day can save 30 kg of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
You may also want to look at areas where there is excessive lighting or lights that are turned on in rooms that are barely used.
Have these lights removed or suggest the lights are not used if daylight is enough.
As well, you can suggest to your supervisor that light bulbs be switched to energy saving bulbs, such as LED bulbs, if possible.
You can conserve your heating use by setting the thermostat in the office at different temperatures in the winter and in the summer.
In the winter, keep the thermostat at 68 degrees or less during the day and at 55 degrees at night when no one is in the office.
In the summer, keeping thermostat at 78 degrees or more will also help to reduce energy use in the office.In the winter, it can also be useful to keep shades and blinds open in the office during a sunny day.
This will heat the room naturally.
You should then close the blinds at night to reduce the amount of heat lost via the windows.
In the summer, keep shades and blinds closed to avoid overheating the room and when the air conditioner is in use. , Many newer computers will have built in energy saving features that can reduce the amount of electricity used by your office.
If you’ve been using the same desktop for 10 years, consider upgrading to a new version that has energy saving features.
Not only will this promote energy savings, it will also show up as savings on the office’s electricity bill.You can also encourage everyone in the office to make sure their computers have the power down option set as well as the hibernation option set.
Keep in mind screen savers do not save energy.
In fact, they are energy wasters, as your computer has to provide twice as much energy to light up your computer screen when using a screen saver.
Remind everyone in the office to turn off their computers, as well as copiers and other electronic equipment when they’re done for the day or when they are not using them.
Shutting off your computer will not shorten itself lifespan and can save high amounts of energy. , GreenPower is a program offered by some energy providers to reduce your home or office’s carbon footprint in Australia, the United States, and Canada.
GreenPower providers are part of a government accredited program to use clean, renewable electricity in homes and offices and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Your supervisor can contact your office’s energy company and ask them if they can provide GreenPower to the office to reduce the office’s energy consumption on a daily basis. , You can cut down on your energy use by adjusting your daily commute.
Carpooling with co workers will keep one more car off the road and reduce the amount of energy you use via fuel.
Biking to work everyday also means you are using kinetic energy, not electric or fuel based energy, to get around.Public transit is also a great way to limit your energy consumption.
Many city buses run on eco friendly fuel.
About the Author
Carolyn Kim
Creates helpful guides on pet care to inspire and educate readers.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: