10 top tips for becoming more energy efficient while working from home

During this current climate, many of us will be working from home. As a result, we may see our domestic energy bills rise as we turn our heating up during the day and begin to use our appliances more frequently.

To help you save energy and manage the increase in your bills, we have spoken to our Senior Energy Consultant, Sam Arje, to compile some top tips for becoming more energy efficient.

1. It goes without saying you may be using the kettle more often. So, to help ensure your cup of tea is being made efficiently, only put the amount of water you need in the kettle before boiling (above the minimum level). This will mean the kettle will be boiling for less time and therefore use less electricity.
2. When it gets cold in the house, pop on extra layers of clothing before choosing to turn your heating on. If your heating is turned on, ensure all your windows are closed so the heat doesn’t escape.
3. If you’re leaving a room for more than 15 minutes, then switch the lights off. Generally, lights will use less energy in the 15 minutes you leave them on for, than switching them off and on again in a shorter space of time.
4. With that, if you have natural light coming into the room, you can avoid turning the lights on.
5. If you’re working from home with other members of your household, can you all work from one room? (Keeping to social distancing advice where appropriate). If so, you can save on your heating by only putting it on in that room. Try to avoid heating rooms that are rarely used.
6. Remove any laptops and other electronic devices from the main charging point and run off the battery when they’re charged.
7. It’s a good idea to batch cook meals in the oven where possible. This avoids turning the oven on unnecessarily, therefore using additional gas or electricity.
8. Check your fridge settings. Is it set to the optimum temperature? Now that you’re home, you are more likely to be going in and out of the fridge more often. Each time the fridge door opens, the cool air is released into the atmosphere, and the fridge has to consume more energy to get back to temperature again. If you can tweak the settings, the fridge won’t need to work as hard to get back down to temperature.
9. If you are at home with your children or other members of your household, encourage and teach them about the importance of switching off appliances after use. Small behaviour changes can make a surprising difference to your bills.
10. Finally, periodically check for leaking or dripping taps in the house to avoid any unnecessary water waste. A tap dripping once a second can leak 4 litres a day! So it pays to fix them.

TEAM is the UK’s leading supplier of carbon and energy management solutions. We specialise in energy management software, energy bureau services and energy consultancy.

If you need support in managing your energy, emissions, bills and data, we can help. To find out more about our suite of energy management solutions and services, contact us today or call on 01908 690018.