Amber’s top energy-saving tips for remote workers

When you work from home, your “office time” contributes to your personal energy usage, and if you’re trying to reduce your overall cost this might feel tricky. Looking at some quick and mainly low-cost ways to save energy could be extremely useful for your overall energy bill. It might seem like a lot to tackle, so the Amber team got together to give you some tips and tricks on making remote working more energy efficient, and more environmentally friendly as a result.

Make use of natural lighting

Making use of natural light can be easy and effective, especially during the brighter months like spring and summer. Keeping windows clean and blinds open makes natural light more available to you, and it might seem simple, but it could be an easy step to take. Adding a mirror to reflect light, and choosing light-coloured paints for walls is another way to emphasise the natural lighting in your space.

LEDs are your friend

Swapping to LED lighting can go a long way. They are brighter and 95% cheaper than incandescent bulbs. Just make sure to switch them off when you don’t need to use them.

Watch out for vampire devices

Research shows that you could save over £145 per year by stopping vampire devices draining energy.

Vampire devices are electronic devices that use small amounts of energy when you leave them switched on. Examples of vampire devices include phone chargers, laptop chargers, dishwashers, microwaves and even your PC monitors.

Make use of timers

An easy energy-saving solution to put into practice if you forget to switch off lights, or locate those energy-vampire devices, is to try a timer.  Timers are great for devices which are not used between specific hours of the day. They could be a small but cost-effective tool to help you set your workspace to use energy during working hours only. Or they could be useful for smaller vampire devices such as timing your chargers to be in use only while you sleep. It’s a great way to optimise energy around your home when you need to use it.   

Consider a smart meter

Why not consider using a smart meter? It’s a useful tool to have installed to use alongside other energy-saving devices and will help you track your energy usage over time. It might simply help to view your usage and what it’s costing you and to help you keep an eye out for any dramatic changes if, for example, an appliance breaks and uses more energy than usual without your knowledge.