Working from home brings a lot benefits. It saves you from commute and dressing up everyday, it gives you tine for that extra minutes of sleep and it lets you work from your most convenient hours. But working from home it may also increase your energy bills – unless you carefully choose your office equipment and do some energy saving measures.

Buy energy efficient office equipment – computers, fax machines, scanners, printers, monitors and multifunction devices (scanner, copier, fax). Some ENERGY STAR office equipment can save as much as 90% of the standard energy consumption.

Most ENERGY STAR office equipments consume 50% less energy than standard ones. Aside from energy saving advantage, some office equipments reduce electromagnetic field emissions (for monitors), air-conditioning loads, and noise from transformers and fans.

An ENERGY STAR computer is 70% more energy efficient than computers without this designation. When left inactive, this computer shifts into a low-power mode, which only uses 15 watts of power or less.

Some office equipments that do not have to be turned on all the time should be shut down and unplugged because they still draw power when turned off.

Unplugging unused electronic devices is not limited to office equipments; unplug your television, VCRs, stereos, microwave oven, electric stove and other appliances when not in use.

Do not leave other appliances turned on while working. Avoid leaving unused appliances on “standby” mode.

Turn off the computer monitor if you are going for a break. Manually turn off your computer if you are leaving for an hour or more. Avoid using screensavers because they consume the same amount of energy as with normal computer use. Activating the computer’s sleep mode is also a better way to save energy.

Do not believe that office equipment should always be turned on because it will last longer. Practicing this belief may only result to higher electric bill.

On your next upgrade, consider buying a laptop as a computer replacement as they consume less energy than desktop computers.

When the battery chargers are not in use or if the batteries are fully charged, unplug the charger immediately.

Set up your home office where you can utilize the natural light to minimize the use of lamps and room lights.

If you are working at night, prefer task lights that consume less energy instead of using room lights. Close the drapes and shades of the windows to keep cold air out and save energy on heating the room.

If you are alone in the house, make sure that you lock all the doors and windows before working.

Set the thermostat of your cooling or heating system to a comfortable level. A digital thermostat can provide better electricity savings. Work where you can reduce the use of heating or cooling system and lights. Prefer a small room as an office rather than the entire living area. Always maintain your air conditioning system clean.

Make energy saving improvements to your home. Home energy saving improvements like insulation, repairing of crack and holes (on the windows, walls, ceiling, floors, attic and basement) and switching to compact fluorescent bulbs can bring down your electric bills.

Not only that, if you are planning to sell your home, making your home energy efficient is a good strategy.

Why is efficient home insulation good for saving energy?

Almost half of your electric bill goes to regulating the temperature of your home. Thus if you want to save on your electric bills, the best place to start is your home’s insulation system.

Insulation is important to minimize or eliminate the heat exchange/loss inside your house. Good insulation keeps the interior warm during winter and cold during hot summer days. A well-insulated house allows your heating and cooling systems to effectively work as needed. Proper insulation can save as much as 10% of your monthly electric bill.

Meanwhile, if your house has leaks or if it has insufficient insulation, air will pass through; and heat exchange will occur on areas where insulation is inadequate. This results to heat loss. And because a house with leaks and insufficient insulation requires more power to regulate its temperature, energy consumption will likely increase.

Where to insulate?

Areas of the house including the switches, power outlets, plumbing fixtures, walls, windows, doors, ceilings, floors, basement, crawl spaces and attic should be properly insulated.

Insulation Tips

Make sure that you consider factors such as building design, budget and climate when selecting the R-values of the insulation materials. Use the proper R-values insulating materials for particular parts of the house.

Consider parts of your house such as the attic, floors, kitchen, bathroom, windows, walls, door and other parts where heat loss are more likely to happen. Use the required insulation materials on these parts to effectively control the temperature.

Sunk-lights can be a source of heat loss but you need to be careful on how close you place the insulation next to these fixtures. Check with your local building codes for reference.

When constructing a home, check on some construction materials that provide both structural support and good insulation.

Follow the product instruction when installing the insulation. Product instructions are the best source of information on how to maximize the use the products.

More Energy Saving Tips

Reduce your light consumption. Some lights produce heat that affects the temperature of the house.

Keep your temperature sensor away from hot materials like stove, oven, lights and other appliances that emit heat to get accurate temperature reading for effective heat regulation.

If the temperature outside is comfortably warm or cold, turn off your heating or cooling system. During heat season, open the drapes of the south-facing windows to allow natural light to enter your home. Close it at night to prevent cool winds from coming in. During winter, keep the drapes and shades closed to help reduce heat loss.

Buy energy-efficient products that will help minimize heat loss and reduce power consumption. Find a reputable contractor and ask advice on good heating and cooling equipment to buy.

During winter, adjust your thermostat at the lowest comfortable level; during summer, highest comfortable level.

Minimize the use of heat generating appliances to reduce the use of cooling system and save on electric bill.

A well-insulated house is like a well-sealed refrigerator. Lesser heat loss means lesser power consumption; and more heat loss means the motor will work harder to maintain the desired interior temperature and thus more energy consumed.

Saving energy means saving money. Make sure that you routinely check your house for leaks and holes and replace or repair leaking parts as soon as you discover them.

The practical approach and the classic way to do it are to apply the adage, “Use less, save more”. While everyone could agree on that, the devil will always hound the details, so how?

Even before the news of a cooling economy hit the papers, consumers across the globe have been finding ways to save money, trying always to have more with less. This is truer now.

With cooler winters ahead in many parts of the world and rising energy prices, the Alliance to Save Energy predicted that the average American household will have to spend $1,700 more on utility and gas pump this year compared to just two years ago. Using less and saving more is still a good idea, but alone, it may not suffice.

This year, winter heating cost is projected by the Energy Information Administration to increase an average of 15%. This is not only caused by higher energy costs but by the cooler winters that are expected.

The 15% projected higher heating costs will of course vary and is dependent to some variables like the characteristics of the space heated, the kind of fuel used for heating and where the consumer is located. Just the same, homes using natural gas as its fuel for heating, which comprise 50% of American households can expect an increase in heating cost by as much as 18%; households that are using oil could expect an increase in heating costs by as much as 23%; while those using electricity and propane will have to shell out about 10% to 11% more.

The advancement in technology gives rise to energy saving devices. Before, the main contention was that most of these devices cost more; and sometimes, the amount of energy saved did not really justify the price. But in today’s setup, the effort in cutting the energy cost has made some improvements on the efficiency of energy saving devices. With the threat of a cooling economy, energy saving devices are once again in focus. There are various and very practical devices that could be used in saving energy and they come in different brands, labels, methods of operation and products. Some saving energy suggestions are:

The solar heaters – this energy-saving device provides heating for both space and water. Depending on the type of solar heater that is used (be it a part of the structure of the home or one that engage the use of a mechanical device), solar heaters are definite money saver. It is easy on the environment too. Greenpeace should love this one.

Electrical saving devices. These are devices that you plug into your socket that promise to reduce the volume of energy that you consume by stabilizing the flow of your electric current. The only limitation to these devices is that it could only control a specific volume of wattage, say 3000 watts, at any given time. If the household will use more than the wattage capacity that the device could handle, another device should be plugged in.

Finally, there are the energy saving light bulbs, lamps, heaters, appliances and other gizmos and gadgets.

But the fact remains that saving energy is fast becoming the order of the day taking into account the current realities. So if all the energy saving devices out there will still not suffice, the “use less and save more” principle will still add a good deal to your savings.

As the cost of living continues to rise, energy reports and broadcasts are crammed with energy saving tips and suggestions. Some energy saving tips require initial investments, some just solicit a change of lifestyle. The best energy saving tips are those that require almost nothing but changing a habit. This one is about the wise energy saving choices.

1.Limit, as much as possible, the use of water. Of course water is not that expensive (at least for now); but saving water saves energy. When cleaning the driveway, the deck or patio, using the broom instead of the hose would save several hundreds of gallons of water a year.

2.A push mower is a good idea to mow a small lawn. Aside from not using electricity or fuel to ride the mowing machine, it is also good exercise.

3.Rakes are good leaf movers. Like the push mower, you do not need energy to fuel up a machine to get the job done. There is also a sense of nostalgia in using this traditional tool.

4.Use compact fluorescent light bulbs to light up your driveway or as a security light. CFLs are one of the most handy and energy efficient products that you can have. If you are worried about bugs sticking to the light, there are yellow CFLs that are available.

5.When shopping, avoid going for the disposable ones. Disposable products need more landfills and landfills emit dangerous gasses. Go instead for items that could be used several times over. Again when shopping, go for products that are made of better quality. They might be a little more expensive but generally, quality products last longer.

6.Bring your own bags when shopping. Paper bags are made from trees; the environment can use more of them. Plastic bags on the contrary are oil based and are not biodegradable. If you bring your bag with you, you do not only help in saving energy, you could also get a discount from your store.

7.Batteries contain toxic materials. They produce heavy metal like zinc, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, mercury etc. Thus, disposal needs proper care. Once the heavy metal in batteries seeped into the ground it has a good chance of contaminating the ground. When buying products that would need batteries, pick those that are rechargeable. That way battery disposal is limited and you save on the cost of buying new batteries.

8.Good thing that SUV sales everywhere are going down (well, at least for the environment and not for car manufacturers). SUVs use much more energy than compact sedans for the same distance. While using SUV’s could be fun, there is also that tinge of indifference to the current energy issues and environmental problems we are facing. Reducing the use of SUVs on the street may not mean much in terms greenhouse gas emissions but is a signal to manufacturers to build more energy efficient vehicles.

9.The use of solar power is an excellent idea if you want to tackle the issues of energy conservation and environment protection. If there is one thing that the world needs most at this time, it is the widespread use of solar power.

10.Energy saving devices may cost a little extra but the pays offs are much more than the extra cost in terms longer life spans and energy saved.