4 Home Office Energy Savings Ideas

Forced to work from home?

…Bet your employer isn’t picking up the additional energy costs, are they?

Fortunately, today’s technology doesn’t gobble up energy.

But it does use energy.

And here’s simple things you can do to minimize the impact of additional home office energy use:

1. Heating and Cooling

This is always a huge opportunity for energy savings. Running your HVAC system takes a lot of energy.

And we’re kind of in that middleground of the year where you may need to run your heating if it gets cool out…or you may need to run your AC to cool down a bit.

First and easiest: just change how you dress. Add a layer or shed one to get comfortable. Sit under a blanket in your favorite recliner while you work on your laptop.

And if you need heat, run your space heater, close your office door, and block the crack under the door. Leave your HVAC system off entirely or as low as possible.

Set your programmable or smart thermostat to control your temperature for you so you don’t have to think about monitoring that all day long.

2. Close Your Blinds

For you, this might be tough. It really increases your feelings of isolation. But, closing your blinds saves energy by blocking the sun’s heat.

Perhaps as an alternative, you could simply set up your home office outside when the temperature’s comfortable.

That way you increase your energy savings, while still keeping your own comfort.

3. Manage Your Technology’s Power Use

It’s easy: make sure every device you have is set to use its sleep mode. Set a time of about 15 minutes for your computer (especially so if you have a desktop).

Plug everything into a single power strip so you only have to turn off one switch to shut everything down at night.

4. Conduct Your Own Mini Energy Audit

As a professional, you understand how examining every last little detail and doing it right adds up to your own success.

Well, simply do the same with how you use energy.

Study every last way you use energy in your home office. Make a checklist.

Then simply figure out what you can do to improve your energy efficiency.

Usually, the greatest energy savings lie in changing your own behavior.

Coronavirus may be disruptive. But it doesn’t need to drive up your energy bills too.

So take what makes sense for you from this post, and implement it today.