Energy vampires

There are a few vampires living in your office, sucking power out of the wall whether you’re there or not. The good news is that these energy vampires are easily combatted. This week, flip the switch on any electronic devices you’re not using!

Devices plugged into an outlet in your office may be using electricity whether they’re on or not. Commonly known as standby power, devices are left in a state where they can be rapidly put into use, using significant energy regardless of how often devices are used. 

Giving your computer a break saves energy and improves its performance. When away from your desk for a meeting, it’s easy to put the computer to sleep and switch off the screen. Overnight and over the weekend, shutting down your computer gives it a chance to install important updates and saves memory. 

So what are you waiting for? Start slaying energy vampires in your office with these simple solutions:

• Make a habit of turning everything plugged in at your desk off overnight, or at least over the weekend. If you’ve got a lot of devices, start with one thing at a time until soon enough you won’t give it a second thought. 
• If you can’t reach your power point easily from your desk, connect it to a power board on top of your desk, so you can easily flick the switch.
• Using a smart power strip can reduce energy use by detecting which appliances are not in use and cutting the standby power.
• Group different devices together according to usage patterns. For example, grouping your PC, monitor and speakers makes it easier to turn these off at the same time because they’re only ever used all together.