Simple ways to be green in home office

Whether working or relaxing there are many ways to be green in a home office. Recycling, replacing light bulbs, turning off electronics when not being used are a few steps you can take for starters.

Taking simple steps to use "green" ideas will reduce the cost of energy and supplies in your home office while you are reducing the impact on the environment. At first glance most of these are small items but the cumulative effect is worth the effort.

Better Homes and Gardens
November 12, 2007

How to Be "Green" in the Home Office

Published: 11/12/07, 2:36 PM EDT

Paper

Good: Print and copy on both sides of the paper. Better: Use tree-free paper and recycle. Best: Go as paperless as possible: send e-mails with attachments, write notes on a white board or in a computer program. Bonus: Shred waste material for packing.

Computers

Good: Use the energy saver settings on your computer and printer. Better: Turn off your computer at the end of the day. Best: Unplug your computer (and other electronics) to keep them from leeching "phantom" energy -- electricity they draw even while turned off.

Lighting

Good: Turn off all lights when you leave the room. Better: Replace your lightbulbs with compact fluorescents or LED lights. Best: Paint the walls of your office a light color to take advantage of natural light, preventing you from turning on the lights in the first place.

The Little Things

Good: Reuse paper clips or at least recycle them, otherwise all the extra metal goes straight to the landfill. Better: Don't use rubber bands anymore -- they're made from crude oil and have serious health effects when they're incinerated at the landfill. Best: Refill ink cartridges rather than buying new ones.

Even Wal-Mart goes green

Whether you like Wal-Mart stores or not, the company, like many others, is implementing green technology to save costs and be more environmentally friendly. That's good for Wal-Mart and good for everyone else. Turning off lights and tv's during late night hours are visible steps to help save energy. Some of the major savings realized are:

* By selling recycled cardboard and plastic, Wal-Mart stands to make $28 million a year.
* By reducing packaging on its Kid Connection toy line, Wal-Mart will use 720 fewer freight containers per year, saving $3.5 million a year.
* By simply changing light bulbs in its ceiling fan displays to energy-efficient, compact fluorescent lights, Wal-Mart stands to save $7 million a year.

News and Observer
June 15, 2007
Sue Stock, Staff Writer

Wal-Mart cutting energy use
Rethink, reuse, reduce waste - Changes affect stores worldwide

Wal-Mart stores are turning off their TVs and dimming the lights between midnight and 6 a.m.

Those are just two of the dozens of changes the company is making as part of an aggressive plan to reduce waste and make its stores more environmentally friendly.

The green initiative will save Wal-Mart millions on energy bills and in some cases reap it a tidy profit.

And, like most things the giant retailer does, it's having a big ripple effect throughout the retailing industry.

Manufacturers are changing product designs to comply with Wal-Mart's changing demands.

Suppliers are changing distribution routes to help save gas.

And smaller food markets that did not directly compete with Wal-Mart are suddenly facing the retailer's notoriously strong muscle head on. Read more...

Electric energy savings with diesel

Diesel power generation can help lower costs for electric energy during peak demand periods. Metretek Technologies of Wake Forest, NC, provides remote control services to activate diesel generators and help businesses reduce dependence on electric companies when demand and cost is higher.

Defenders say "generators help the environment by relieving energy demand and delaying the need to build more power plants". Another view is that "in the nation's energy equation, dirty diesel is just a different shade of green".

News and Observer
June 13, 2007
John Murawski, Staff Writer

Generating savings on diesel

It's another sweltering summer afternoon and legions of air conditioners are maxing out the region's electricity supply.

That's the cue for 135 Food Lion grocery stores to temporarily stop buying electricity from their local utilities.

Instead, the Food Lions, along with hundreds of other heavy electricity users, crank up their own power sources: diesel generators as big as industrial trash bins.

Temporarily disconnecting from the power grid when electricity prices are at their highest can cut a store's annual energy bill in half.

Energy self-reliance is increasingly appealing to big business, for practical reasons.

But as public concern about global warming is renewing focus on renewables such as solar and wind, some companies are taking alternative energy in a different direction. Read more...

Replace incandescent bulbs for energy savings

Ever realize that all those incandescent bulbs in your living space give off light at the expense of also giving off a lot of heat? You can save on your energy bill by simply replacing the old bulbs with modern fluorescent bulbs and get more light with considerable energy savings at the same time and the new bulbs even produce the same "color" of light. For example, a new spiral fluorescent bulb gives off the light of a 75 watt bulb and only consumes 19 watts of energy. The new bulb also outlasts 13 incandescent bulbs. Reducing the heat output also reduces the energy air conditioning units must remove from the air during cooling season.

In case you don't like the white light of typical fluorescent bulbs the new spiral bulbs also produce "warm" light that has the look of light from incandescent bulbs. Or you can opt for the white light if you prefer that.

JP