Looking for some energy saving tips now you are working from home? With the UK under lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, we are all spending a lot more time at home. All those cups of coffee, plugged in laptops and streamed TV shows are adding up to a bigger household energy footprint. Whether you’re looking to keep your bills to a minimum, or lessen your environmental impact, here are some suggestions for a greener office life indoors:
The working day
Thousands of people who wouldn’t normally work from home are now doing so. This means that instead of using the office’s heating and electricity, you’re using your own. Here’s a few ideas for being more energy efficient.
Less travelling
OK, so this isn’t a choice. But one positive about being at home is the reduction in both carbon emissions and air pollution from the huge drop in car journeys. Instead, you could sometimes use your outdoor time for the day to ‘commute’ to or from the home office with a run, walk or cycle.
Your workstation
If you’re making do with a DIY office, try to choose a spot with plenty of natural light so that you don’t have to have lights on all day. Turning down the brightness of your monitor uses less energy too, and also don’t charge your phone overnight, instead charge it while working, plug it into your laptop. Working from home should be as comfortable if not more so than working in the office.
Heating
The Energy Saving Trust recommends a range of 18-21ºC for healthy adults. If you tend to have the heating at the higher end of the scale, turning it down by just one degree saves energy and money. Time to make the most of your new work wardrobe of cosy jumpers, dressing gown and slippers! Working from home means only dressing for the office from the waist up!
Coffee and tea break
Remember don’t overfill your kettle only boil the amount of water you need for the number of drinks you are making at the time. Even if you drink a lot of hot drinks during the day, it’s still more energy efficient to boil what you need each time you make a drink rather than fill the kettle at the start of the day and boil too much water.
Lunch break
Think about food waste, at this time, many of us are more aware of our food supplies. How can you make sure that you don’t waste what you’ve got? Think about using leftover meat to make soups and stews or boiling up vegetable peelings to make veggie stock.
Take a screen break, spending time offline can help give your mind a rest – and don’t forget to switch your monitor off and close your laptop to save energy.
Turn it all off
Finish the working day by closing down your computer and turning it off at the plug. Don’t leave it on standby all night. You could also try to get into this habit with other appliances, too.
Check your gas and electric bill
Is your energy bill ready for renewal? Have you been meaning to switch your energy to see if you could reduce your gas and electricity bills? Well now is the time to do it, don’t delay. Compare your energy bill with us – we have a switching site that compares all the best clean, green energy providers that offer value for money, great customer service and are 100% ethical.
You can do the switch yourself here on our website – https://greenenergyswitch.co.uk/switch-energy-tariff/ or if you prefer to speak to someone for help and advice then please call our friendly team on 01733 646253. It’s easy – what are you waiting for.
There are no costs for the user in switching through the site, but an additional benefit is that any profits made by Green Energy Switch are gifted back to the environmental charity PECT to help fund its vital work. For further details about PECT’s work, take a look at www.pect.org.uk.
Other energy saving tips
There are plenty of other things you can do to make your home energy efficient. Visit www.energysavingtrust.org.uk for more ideas.
Green Energy Switch – Simply the best energy management service saving you time, money and effort. www.greenenergyswitch.co.uk – info@greenenergyswitch.co.uk – 01733 646253
