Bring your office’s energy consumption down, save money and reduce your carbon footprint.

Your energy bill is an unavoidable overhead, but there are ways to make sure that you pay less for your business energy. One of the ways of doing this is to invest in office equipment that uses energy more efficiently. Although this may require some upfront effort and expense, effective management of your office equipment can reduce its energy consumption by up to 70%.

Did you know? Office equipment accounts for about 15% of the electricity used in offices in the UK.

Simple steps for more efficient office equipment

Many of the changes involved in incorporating energy-efficient office equipment are easy to implement, don’t take up a lot of time, and aren’t expensive.

Some quick wins:

Switch off electric office equipment when not in use: Always turn off monitors and computers at the end of the day. Unplugging them also prevents latent energy consumption. If your staff will be away from their desks for more than ten minutes, encourage them to turn off their monitors.

Prudent printing and photocopying - Switch off all printers and photocopiers at the end of the way and avoid unnecessary printing.

Use energy-saving features - Office equipment often has built-in energy-saving features, such as a standby mode. Ensure that these features are activated, and you could reduce an item’s overall energy consumption by up to 30%.

Longer-term commitments:

After implementing simple changes to reduce office equipment energy consumption, you can look to longer-term investments, including:

Upgrade equipment - when replacing old equipment, phase in new appliances and tools with improved energy efficiency.

On that point, make sure that you have a schedule in place for office equipment maintenance, since well-maintained equipment lasts longer and uses energy more efficiently. A professional facilities maintenance company can take care of this for you.

Have an office policy for energy-efficiency in place that all employees are required to follow. This policy can set out guidelines and procedures that help minimise energy wastage.

Raise employee awareness - get buy-in from your employees by explaining the benefits of using energy-efficient office equipment. Get them involved with your office equipment energy use commitments by having them come up with their own energy-saving ideas.

Monitor energy use - understanding your energy consumption can help you identify where potential efficiencies lie. Monitoring for peaks in energy consumption will show where office equipment energy consumption is too high; reviewing consumption over a longer-term will allow you to identify seasonal changes and times when you need to be extra-vigilant about reducing energy consumption.

An energy-efficient office made easy

Many small (and large) businesses have all intention of saving energy, but they simply don't have the time and resources to manage their energy portfolios.

Using the services of an energy broker give businesses the tools they need to optimise energy usage and reduce their energy spend. As experts in energy efficiency and savings, your broker can help you save money and improve your sustainability.