Saving energy around the office could make a significant difference to your business. With the cost of utilities so high, you will want to reduce the amounts you spend with energy-saving measures. It might also be more than just maximising profits. You might also want to show your commitment to the environment. The ethos and values of most organisations now demand energy-saving as a means of reducing the impacts of climate change.
Here we offer some gadgets that could help you cut energy costs in your office.
The standby buster.
One of the significant ways we waste energy is with the little red light on electrical items. Monitors, for instance, are often left on standby when the computer has switched off. There are few devices we fully power down in today’s super-fast consumer world.
However, if you are looking to save money, you need to switch off the flow of electricity altogether. A gadget recommended by the Energy Saving Trust could be the answer. The standby buster allows you to remotely turn off devices that are sitting on standby. Consequently, you do not have to go around the whole of your workplace, wasting your valuable time. You can make sure the items are switched off using your remote control.
You can buy a Standby Buster for three sockets for about £20. Therefore, to cover the whole of your workplace might be quite an investment. When you are costing this, make sure you consider the long term saving against the short-term price your pay. It is thought that each Standby Buster could save you £40 a year on your electricity bill.
You could do even more by using an Ecobutton on your computer. Most people do not entirely switch off the computer. Therefore, the big green button can be tapped and send the laptop into a low-energy mode. You can encourage your team to save as much energy as possible by tapping the button when they go to the loo.
The smart thermostat.
There is nothing more heartbreaking than the money wasted in the heating of an empty building. If no-one is at work, but the heat automatically switches on, you are literally burning your cash. What better way to overcome this than with the control overheating on your phone or laptop? By connecting the thermostat to your internet, as part of the Internet of Things, you can have complete control of the energy being used in your building.
You don’t need to change the whole heating system to have a smart thermostat. You can likely connect a smart thermostat to your current system.
The Eco Kettle.
In any office, the boiling kettle is a familiar sound. Worker after worker will fill the kettle and boil a pot of water each time. Imagine the money you will save if only the water for a single cup was boiled at a time. As with the Standby Buster, the Eco Kettle is recommended by the Energy Saving Trust.
Standard Eco-Kettle costs between £35 to £60. The return on the investment could be significant when you consider the number of times a kettle is boiled in your workplace.
This might seem like a small measure. However, you will find that the combined effect of lots of minor actions can build to be something significant. You might only save pence each time the kettle is boiled. However, over time this can quickly build, especially if done in conjunction with other efficiency measures.
Charging gadgets.
Keeping your workers connected wherever they are is an excellent way to maximise productivity. There are ways you can keep your professionals hard at work without spending money on energy. The Freeloader gadget allows you to charge a mobile phone, tablet or laptop using solar power. The Freeloader device can be placed on a windowsill or in any other sunny area. Over a day, the gadget will charge and then be available to power the devices.
How long can it charge a mobile? How does 18 hours sound? The Freeloader can also charge an iPad for 2 hours and a gaming console for nearly three hours.
This gadget is more than just an energy-saver. It can also help your professionals stay powered up when out on the road or on a long-distance plane journey.
The Enviro-plug is another way of keeping gadgets charged without spending too much money. If your phones are put on charge overnight, you can save money by plugging it into an Enviro-plug, and it will use a fraction of the energy.
