“Economy is a savings-bank into which men drop pennies, and get dollars in return.”
~Josh Billings American Humorist 1818-1885
Statistics: (Provided by Fundera)
- As reported in 2017, 3.7 million employees (making up 2.8% of the entire U.S. workforce) work from home for at least half the time.
In this increasingly digital world, there has never been a better time to work from home. The growing number of people who telecommute is rapidly increasing. Working from home saves energy and time by cutting out the commute, but it may increase your home energy bills unless you use energy-saving office equipment.
ENERGY STAR equipment uses about half the electricity of older models. Along with saving energy directly, this equipment can reduce air-conditioning loads, noise from fans and transformers, and electromagnetic field emissions from monitors.
Energy Saving Tips:
- Selecting energy-efficient office equipment (personal computers, monitors, copiers, printers, etc.) can result in savings.
- An ENERGY STAR computer, if left inactive, enters a low-power mode and uses 15 watts or less. Spending a large portion of time in low-power mode not only saves energy, but helps equipment run cooler and last longer.
- Turning off machines when they are not in use saves money. To maximize savings with a laptop, put the AC adapter on a power strip that can be turned off; the transformer in the AC adapter draws power continuously, even when the laptop is not plugged into the adapter.
- Common misconceptions sometimes account for not turning off equipment. Many people believe that equipment lasts longer if it is never turned off. This incorrect view carries over from the days of older mainframe computers. There is also a common misconception that screen savers reduce energy use by monitors; they do not. Automatic switching to sleep mode or manually turning monitors off is a better energy-saving strategy.
- Consider buying a laptop for your next computer upgrade; they use much less energy than desktop computers.
- Many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off. These “phantom” loads occur in most appliances that use electricity, such as DVD players, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances. In the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power appliances is consumed while the products are turned off. This can be avoided by unplugging the appliance or using a power strip and using that switch to cut all power to the appliance.
- Unplug chargers when the batteries are fully charged or when the chargers are not in use.
- Studies have shown that using rechargeable batteries for products like cordless phones and PDAs is more cost effective than throwaway batteries. If you must use throwaways, check with your trash removal company about safe disposal options.
Excerpted from United States Department of Energy