Energy-Saving Ideas While Working from Home

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about great shifts to the way people work, in many ways. Because of lockdowns, many offices switched to a work-from-home model to help prevent the spread of the virus and to keep people safe. It’s been almost a year and a half, and while most of the country is open now, many workplaces are opting to allow their employees to continue working remotely if it’s a good option all around.

Spending your daytime hours in your home, especially if you are working, can affect your utility bills, as you’re consuming more electricity and likely more water being at home all day. If you’re looking for ways to keep your energy bill low while working from home, here are a few tips:

Look into energy-saving options for sustainability.  If you’re working from home, odds are you’re at a computer in a home office. This can naturally drive up your electric bill, especially if you’re using a desktop computer with attached devices. Check out the energy-saving tools built into your computer and other electronics to help ensure they work as efficiently as possible.

Assess each room for energy usage.  Go through the rooms in your home that are used every day – living room, bedroom, office, and kitchen – and write out a list for each room, noting what items in each room use up energy. This can include lamps, overhead lights, electronics, fans, air conditioning units, and anything that’s plugged in. Once you’ve made your lists, think of ways you can reduce your energy usage for each item.

Keep the lights low.  When you’re in Zoom meetings all day, you naturally want your screen to be well lit. However, you don’t have to keep all of the lights on in your office to achieve that. Ring lights have become increasingly popular in the last year and are inexpensive – just plug one into your USB port on your computer and clip the light to your monitor near your camera. This is a great way to reduce your energy usage without compromising your professionalism. It’s also a good idea to look into switching up your lightbulbs to more energy-efficient ones.

Make a small thermostat adjustment.  Your home’s temperature can make a huge difference in your electric bill. One way to easily cut costs is to adjust the temperature on your thermostat by one degree, which can save 1 percent on your bill over eight hours. Adjust it up one degree in the summer, and down one in the winter for best effect.