Energy Saving Possibilities

Reducing energy use by machines may be an especially important part of your energy saving efforts. While there are many techniques for saving energy in lighting, heating and air conditioning, there is usually only one way to save energy used by office machines: turn them off.

Office machines use energy to do one or more of the following: move something (i.e. paper thorough a copier; heat something (i.e. toner in the copier); and cool the machine (most have a fan to keep air circulating to dissipate heat from the motor and heating element). They cost you energy dollars for their operation, and the heat they throw off adds to the air conditioning load.

TURN OFF MACHINES WHEN NOT IN USE:

Whenever possible, turn off machines when the office is closed. Consider turning computers off during the day as well if they are not going to be used for a few hours. If you cannot turn off the whole system, turn off the printer and/or monitor. To make this easier consider plugging non-essential equipment into a power bar that could be turned off with one switch.

Two computers rated at a total of 1000 watts and left on at night could be wasting more than $100.00 per year in electricity. For 100 computers, the amount could be $5000.00 or more per year.

SELECT MACHINES TO USE AND TO BUY:

Office machines and their energy-use features can be so important for workplace productivity that energy consumption clearly may be only a secondary consideration. If you have a choice of a small or a large machine to turn on and use or to leave running (i.e. a photocopier) select the smaller one. Similarly, in buying machines, if energy savings are important, consider their size and energy use when making a selection; low energy use in stand-by mode is a desirable feature.