Save Energy in the Study
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These days our studies are becoming ever more full of electronic stuff.
For a start computers are in most houses now, and with them comes the monitor, the modem, the printer… all of which have plugs. Then there’s the music system, the cordless phone, the fax and whatever else.
If you’re reading this at home just take a look around where you’re sitting and see what’s plugged in right now. How much stuff is plugged in but not actually being used ?
POSITIVE STEPS:
Computers and their stuff:
Mostly the steps you can take centre around making sure stuff is switched off when not in use. Especially printers and computers which can use a lot of power, even on standby.
If you leave the computer for a short while and don’t want to shut down, switching off the screen will save a good half of its power consumption. Old cathode ray monitors often use more than the modern flat screens, but you can save on both by switching off when leaving your computer for a while. It also prolongs the life of the monitor.
On a laptop you can get the same energy-saving effect by turning down the screen brightness to minimum or just shutting the lid.
A nice development are these Eco-buttons, that instruct the computer to switch off all unnecessary power consumption. Easy to press when you leave the desk, this brings your computer's consumption to a level well below the normal standby levels.
>> See one HERE in "Eco-friendly" section
Other electricals:
As ever, it’s a case of making sure that you’ve not got things plugged in needlessly. Take a quick check and of each plug ask whether it really needs to be on. We had a fax machine plugged in for several years before I realised we never really use it any more - I think the last fax came through in 2005. Anyway, now unplugged.
The thing about unplugging things is that it also eliminates the chance of standby fires. When plugged in, something could start smouldering away from the live wire. Although remote, switching off at the wall is the only sure way of eliminating this possibility.
Lighting:
Depending on how your study is lit, there’s an opportunity for making it more efficient. If you light the whole room, count up the wattages of lights involved. That’s fine if you’re working in the whole room, but if you’re often just at the desk, having a desk light may well be a more energy efficient option.
Unlike whole-room lighting, a desk light provides a well-focussed bright light for working in. Make sure that the light you use is both bright enough and efficient. An angle-poise with say a good 16Watt CFL makes an excellent light. Alternatively some of the new stylish LED lights do the job at even lower powers.
Here’s an example of one: http://www.johnlewis.com/230521503/Product.aspx
Heating:
If the study is just an occasionally-used room, the biggest Carbon-saving you can make is turning down the heating when it’s not in use. And shutting the door to keep the rest of the warm air leaking in.
Doing so will at a stroke reduce the amount of heat your boiler needs to pump out and this really will generate considerable CO2 savings as you’re making your house heating load smaller.
