Many offices today are taking concerted efforts to make themselves more efficient. Not only is energy saving good for the environment, but it’s also great for your bottom line. In some cases, you can consume up to 90% less energy (and spend just as little) with a few frugal decisions and/or behaviors. Here are some ways you can save money and energy at your office:
Laser printers are great, but ink jet printers can be more efficient
In fact, ink jet printers use 90% LESS energy than laser printers. Now granted, if you’re a high-volume office that needs to run off a ton of printed pieces and/or NEED top quality – then obviously you’ll make and save more money using a laser printer. But if you’re not, don’t tune out the idea of using ink jet printers. Not only do they cost less up front, but their continued use can help save a pretty penny or two.
Keep your PC’s, Monitors and Copiers turned off at night
Try to avoid depending on sleep and screen savers. Not only is turning your equipment off at night better for the devices themselves, but it can also save you a lot in terms of energy costs. Even with power saving modes, you’re still spending money for essentially nothing.
Consider using laptops over desktops
For high-powered businesses, you need high-powered machines, but if you’re using your computer for basic email/word processing/spreadsheets – consider a higher end laptop. Just like ink jets and laser printers, laptops also use 90% less power than their desktop counterpoints. Most of the time, they can even run on their own battery power, consuming almost no energy at all.
Unlock the power of power strips
Smart power strips are the best. Not only do they help protect your devices, but they also cut off and minimize power flow to ancillary devices that might also be plugged in as well. Just like turning your devices off at night, it makes no sense to pay for power you’re not even using.