Make Your Home Office Work For You With These Energy Efficiency Tips!

Increasing your energy efficiency in the workplace is a great way to save energy—after all, you do spend at least eight hours a day there! But what if you work from home, instead of in an office? Luckily, it is even easier to make energy efficiency upgrades in your home office—plus the savings get passed right on to you!

The Joys of Telecommuting

It’s important to note that just the simple commitment to telecommuting to work can save you a lot of money by itself. These savings come from not having to pay for gas and maintenance on your vehicle each day, which can slowly add up to big savings and keep your personal carbon footprint down. Here are just a few reasons why telecommuting is great for your wallet and the environment:

• 2 million telecommuters in the US save approximately 10 million barrels of oil just by nixing their daily commute (often an average of 35 miles round-trip.)
• One study found that the average American spends 4% of their annual budget (an average of $2,900 per person) on their commute. Just imagine what you could do with an extra $3,000 a year in your wallet!

Other Ways to Increase Energy Efficiency

• Embrace digital technology and go paperless! By telecommuting you’ll already be using your computer, so try to consolidate everything you can to the digital realm instead of using paper. Think bill statements, regular correspondences, and especially personal note-taking!

• Take advantage of natural light to cut down on your lighting costs. Not only will this keep you from wasting energy by keeping your lights on all day, but relying on natural light will organically keep you from overworking yourself and burning the midnight oil. Remember: work-life balance is important, too!

• Power down your workstation once you are done for the day. You’ll save energy by keeping it off during non-business hours and it’ll keep you from being tempted to do extra work or check email in the evenings.

• If reasonably possible, adjust your computer’s settings and run it in low power mode. Try to consume as little energy as possible with your home workstation.

If you’re feeling inspired to upgrade your home office, then you should consider buying your supplies with the Star Energy Rewards app to earn lots of cashback on your purchases!