Energy Saving Office
Green Office
If you are passionate about a "green" environment, energy saving, and making a difference in the future of global health, there are many opportunities for you to contribute to protecting the planet right from your home office!
By using eco-friendly office supplies, energy saving office equipment, and engaging in office practices such as recycling and conserving, you can make a difference in the world and significantly reduce your office expenditures at the same time.
Environmentally Friendly Office Choices
Some of the eco-friendly choices you can make in your business or home office include using only 100% recycled paper products (including printer/fax paper, envelopes, stick-it notes, index cards, day planners, paper pads, wall calendars, paper towels, toilet paper, facial tissue, compostable coffee cups, etc.), becoming a paperless office, selecting energy saving lighting solutions and heating/cooling systems, turning off computers and electric office equipment, conserving water, and more.
Energy Saving Office Lighting
By changing from incandescent (regular) light bulbs to fluorescent lamps, halogen bulbs, battery powered lights, or lighting dimmers, you can significantly cut the total energy use of your office and save hundreds to thousands of dollars in electric bills. Low-voltage halogen bulbs last twice as long as regular bulbs, fluorescent bulbs (or solar lights) last up to 10 times as long as regular bulbs, and an incandescent light bulb dimmed by just 10% will last twice as long as a bulb in full brightness.
Moreover, these energy saving office lighting solutions are available in many attractive, contemporary styles to spruce up your office décor, and dimmers grant you control over the mood and ambience of the entire room. You can also invest in occupancy sensors, which automatically turn lights off when no one is in the room.
Energy Saving All-in-One Printers
Also known as multi-function printers (MFPs), all-in-one printers feature copy, print, and scan functions all in one convenient machine. These economical office devices not only help you multi-task, save time, and communicate efficiently in today's rapid-communication world, but today's all-in-one printers save energy, are much cheaper than buying separate machines, and are great desktop space savers.
Energy Saving Computer Work Stations
You can reduce energy expenditure and reduce CO2 emissions by the simple act of turning off office computers, printers, fax machines, photocopiers, and other office equipment overnight. In addition to shutting down your office work station while you sleep, you can purchase work stations that automatically go into "sleep mode" during daytime idle periods. Photocopiers which use recycled paper and can make double-sided copies conserve paper, save trees, and reduce solid waste (which saves landfill space).
If you want to ensure that your home office is going green, look for the Energy Star label on your office computers, copiers, and fax machines, a mark which guarantees that these devices conserve energy and come with automatic turn-off functions.
Office Water Conservation
If you want of save up to 50% on your office hot water bills and reduce conserve gallons of water wastage, consider investing in the following:
•- Low-flush and dual-flush toilets
•- Low-flow faucets
•- Small hot water tank or a tankless unit
Energy Saving Office Heating/Cooling/Ventilation Systems
You can drastically reduce your utility bills and reduce energy expenditures by investing in high-efficiency heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and by installing a thermostat which can be set to automatically turn your HVAC system on/off. Additional energy saving office solutions include outside air economizers which flush your building/home with fresh cool air from outside, (reducing the need for air conditioning), solar shading such as window films that block the sun's heat, or reflective roof coatings, which reflect the sun's heat away.
Environmentally Responsible Office
Some environmentally responsible actions and eco-friendly steps you can take in your office space include:
•- Print using single spacing and print on both sides of the paper
•- Use electronic copies instead of printing
•- Recycle paper, glass, aluminum, and plastics
•- Purchase only non-bleached, chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer waste paper (PCW) paper made from recycled fibers
•- Look for SFI and FSC-certified office supplies, the golden standard in recycled paper products
•- Select recycled, biodegradable, tree-free, sustainable, reusable, and/or non-toxic office supplies
•- Use recycled ink cartridges and toner cartridges
By turning your home office into an energy saving office you save money, conserve energy, and conserve the world's natural resources.