Whether you’re inspired to go green to conserve our wonderful planet or save money on your utility and electrical bills, the efforts do not have to end at your home. There are many ways you can contribute to saving the planet in your office as well.

In fact, research estimates that small businesses could spend 30% less if they adopt several green practices, starting from switching the light bulbs, keeping their heating systems in good shape and putting more effort towards conserving energy.

Are you doing everything in your power to keep your office green? In this article we’ll give you a couple of ideas on how you can make sure your office is eco-friendly, saving you a lot of money in the process.

Switch off devices and appliances nobody is using

Here’s a fun fact you might not have known: devices and appliances that are in standby mode or turned off keep draining energy throughout the day. This is referred to as standby power and could cost your office a lot of money.

Sure, we may be looking at a small number on your monthly bill, but consider that a microwave oven could cost you up to $4 on an annual basis, while a plugged-in wireless router could cost you as much as $20 every year. All of your appliances combined may cost you up to $100 on an annual basis.  Look at this table for more information.

To prevent this unnecessary expense, make sure to plug out any devices you may not be using during the day, over the weekend or the holidays. You could also provide your office with power strips with switches, which can be easily turned off when nobody’s using the devices plugged into them. Finally, consider switching to Energy Star products that are more energy efficient and consume less energy on standby.

Mind Your Heating System

Heating is definitely one of the biggest expenses for any small business, collectively spending around $60 billion annually on heating according to the research conducted by EPA. However, there are several ways you can reduce your office heating bill and your impact on the environment.

The first and most effective is to keep your heating system in peak condition. That involves hiring a licensed technician to perform an annual check-up, as a malfunctioning heating system tends to spend more energy as it attempts to compensate for any issues like clogged filters or obstructed air ducts.

Apart from that, you should educate your employees on conserving the heat as much as possible. That means they should avoid leaving doors and windows open. That also involves properly insulating any cracks that might be letting the warm air out.

Step Up Your Recycling Game

Place recycle bins at several key points around the office to encourage your employees to properly dispose of waste like cans, bottles, leftover food and other garbage. You wouldn’t believe how much waste an average office can recycle.

But recycling is not limited to garbage. You could also recycle printer cartridges, use recycled paper and get furniture made from recycled materials.

Appoint a Team to Monitor Your Green Efforts

To make sure everyone’s on the same page, you could choose a team and put them in charge of your office’s sustainability efforts. They should be in charge of overlooking everything from recycling to heating and logistics or making sure the office supplies you order are eco-friendly.

They could also prepare seminars and educate your employees on the importance of your eco-friendly efforts. Seminars are much more effective than memo emails that end up in the trash anyway.

Contact Action Air Conditioning & Heating of San Diego to schedule routine heating system maintenance at:

4455 Murphy Canyon Rd Suite 100–5, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
800-400-4152