How can you save energy by working at home?

How can you save energy by working at home?

In recent years, companies around the world have seen major changes as a result of COVID-19. One of the most significant changes is the workforce moving from office to home-based work. Many companies have benefited and appreciated this shift, as it resulted in reduced office rent and other utility costs. Not only that, working at home also has numerous advantages for employees and freelancers.

However, working from home can still present challenges. One such challenge is the potential for higher home operating costs due to being at home for longer periods of time. Therefore, employees may need to optimize their energy costs to save energy and money at home.

Warm up before heating the space around you.

You may have become accustomed to your warm office, but it is unlikely that you have considered the costs of achieving this comfort. It was your company that paid for it. Being at home, paying for yourself and being warm and comfortable while you work is important for focus and productivity.

Therefore, to ensure comfort, you could focus on warming yourself rather than heating your room or home. Wearing warm clothing, layering, active movement and hot beverages will help you stay warm while working at home.

Heat your work area, not the whole house.

If you feel you still need heat in your work area, focus on a single room rather than the entire house. As in your employer’s office, you are unlikely to need more than one room when working from a desktop or laptop computer. Therefore, it is easier to heat just one room where you will work the most.

Focusing on your workplace and turning it into a small comfort space can help you drive work. We help you create a space you enjoy working in.

The best tip for heating a room using minimal energy! All you’ll need is a small heater and a fan. While a heater will warm your personal space, directing a fan towards it will distribute the heat throughout the room and quickly raise the temperature by several degrees. This can be especially useful if you can’t select certain radiators to heat.

Use a smart power strip

Heating isn’t the only way you can optimize your energy. When you work from home, you are likely to use several devices, such as a laptop, scanner, printer, and a few other devices. They all consume energy even if they are in sleep mode.

A smart power strip can solve this power consumption by turning off the devices if they are idle for a while. This will allow you to not worry about whether these devices are plugged in and whether they should be turned off. At the same time, you will not waste additional energy when you are not using them.

In addition, you can also use smart trackers that will show you which devices consume the most power and when. With this information, you will be able to adjust your energy consumption profile and thus avoid wasting unnecessary energy.

Think about your lighting

The next point you should think about is the lighting in your work area. Without a doubt, your ‘home office’ needs to be bright enough to work, to reduce stress and help keep your eyesight healthy. However, lighting is one of the biggest energy consumers in your home.

To avoid excessive energy waste, make sure the light is on only in the areas that need to be illuminated. Since you are likely to spend hours in your work area, other rooms in your home will not need light at all. While it may be tempting to use electric light most of the time, why not draw the curtains in your room and let natural sunlight in? This will save you a substantial amount of money on energy and can help improve your mood.

Also, replacing energy-hungry incandescent bulbs with LEDs may be the best change you make. LEDs consume 10 times less energy than incandescent bulbs, which will reduce energy costs and help you be more energy efficient.

Improve your EPC rating

An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is the document that shows the energy efficiency of your home. This document is usually required when you build, sell or rent a property. It is valid for 10 years and you can be fined if you do not have an EPC when you need it.

To receive this document, you must request it from an accredited assessor. This service will assess the current grade of your home and create a certificate for you. If you wish to improve your EPC rating, they will provide you with a comprehensive list of recommendations on how to make your home more energy efficient. EPC for you : “The average EPC grade at the moment in the UK is a D, which means that if you get a grade of C or above, you’re doing pretty well.” They know exactly what it takes to improve your home, even with a grade that can make the biggest difference to energy efficiency and energy costs.

The best grade a home can have is an ‘A’, which would mean your home is very energy efficient and imposes very low operating costs. Meanwhile, the lowest grade is ‘G’, which points to an energy inefficient home with excessive energy consumption and high operating costs. While there are underlying factors of this grade that cannot be changed, something can be done to improve the EPC rating.

The most obvious ways to improve an EPC grade include insulating walls and lofts and installing an efficient heating source. A more substantial investment may be to install solar panels that produce renewable energy and allow you to not spend as much money on electricity.

Another small change you can make is to upgrade your kitchen and bathrooms to more energy efficient appliances. This is made even easier since all appliances have energy ratings when you purchase them so you can make the most positive and informed decision for your home.

Choose the right rate

Reducing energy costs can not only be the result of the actions you take as a consumer, but also the company that supplies your home. Check to see if you are using the right rate for the amount of energy you consume each month.

Many energy suppliers help you track your energy consumption online. If you find that you are spending less energy than your rate stipulates, switch to a more energy-efficient rate. This will motivate you to spend less energy and reduce your bills.

In conclusion, there are numerous ways to save energy when working from home. You should review your energy consumption behavior from all angles. If you find inefficiencies and excessive energy usage and eliminate them. Your energy consumption can easily be optimized by being selective with heating, lighting, appliances and using a smart power strip. Working from home has never been easier or less stressful when you save money on energy and are more conscious of your energy consumption.