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Back when electricity costs were lower, easy eco-friendly initiatives weren’t a high priority. Yet recent surveys have revealed that around two-thirds of businesses now pay more attention to energy efficiency than they did a year ago. Some companies are motivated by rising energy prices; others have a commitment to lowering their carbon footprint.
Here are eight easy ways to save energy at work – and at home. You’ll reduce your electricity bill, and also help the environment.
1. Unplug your appliances
Ever noticed that your mobile phone or iPAQ recharger is hot to touch even when it is not in use?This is because it draws energy the entire time the device is plugged in. Studies have revealed that up to a shocking 75 percent of electricity is used by devices that are “turned off”.
To prevent this, simply unplug devices from the wall when you‘re not using them. You may notice a big difference in your bills.
2. Switch to power-saving settings
You don’t have to be an IT expert to improve your Microsoft® Windows® PC’s energy efficiency.
Go to the “Start” button, then click on “Control Panel” and select the “Power Options” menu. Here you can cut your power usage by changing settings from “idle” to “standby”. Now every time you take a break and leave your PC running, you will use up to 50 times less electricity.
To save even more electricity, reduce the time delay before your PC switches to a power-saving mode. See the “Power Options” menu to make this quick change.
3. Turn off your screen saver
Turn off your screen saver to save energy. Studies have revealed that monitors using a screen saver eat up much more energy than those in standby mode.
4. Monitor options
Monitors draw a lot of electricity. For maximum efficiency, choose an LCD monitor over a CRT model. Turning the brightness down also helps to curb energy usage.
5. Switch off peripherals
Most computers have a lot of features and peripherals, not all of which are used on a daily basis. Save energy by unplugging or disabling WiFi, Bluetooth, printers, scanners, external drives, card readers, webcams and speakers when you’re not using them.
6. Backup during the day
Even more power can be spared if you schedule your computer’s data backup during your workday – perhaps during your lunch break. Doing this means that you won’t have to leave your computer on overnight, and you have an excuse to take a proper break during the day.
7. Buy energy-efficient products
These days ENERGY STAR office equipment is easy to find and affordable to buy. It provides you with dramatic power savings, as much as 90 percent for certain products.
HP designs its ENERGY STAR® products to provide high performance with lower energy usage. For example, new server and workstation systems are designed to maintain power efficiency while running high-throughput, data-intensive applications.
8. Complete the conservation cycle
When you’re finished with your hardware or printing supplies, remember to recycle them. Check out HP’s trade-in, donate and recycling options for your used computer or printing hardware, batteries and HP printing supplies.
And don’t forget, once you have disposed of your old equipment, you can purchase new energy-efficient solutions.
Microsoft and Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Energy Star is a US registered mark of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
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