With the energy crisis in full flow, many businesses across the UK are taking action to reduce their energy consumption, and save money on energy bills. This includes office based businesses. So how can you improve energy efficiency in your office? Well, here at Walker Electrical, we are Preston’s leading electrical experts. We have produced this guide to everything you should know about energy efficiency in the office.
What is the standard energy usage for a typical office?
Offices are environments that typically use a lot of electricity. From light fixtures to computers, vending machines to fridges, there are a lot of electrical fixtures and appliances that are crucial for daily office life. Most of the electricity consumption comes from your light fixtures, with lighting costing around 26% of the average office bill. Computer use costs around 10% with the kettle, fridge and water cooler costing an additional 10%. But what is most interesting is that around 46% of all energy usage from offices, occurs between 6pm and 8am, i.e, after office hours. This shows a greater need for energy efficient strategies.
What are the effective options for improving energy efficiency in your office?
There are several steps you can take to improve the energy efficiency in your office. These include:
- ensuring all computers and lights are switched off when not in use, especially at the end of the working day.
- replacing old computers with laptops. When your old computers need to be replaced, you should consider laptops instead of desktops as these use much less power.
- turning the thermostat down 1 degree in winter, and up 1 degree in summer
- switching to LED lighting
For more information or advice, get in touch with the experts today, here at Walker Electrical.