5 Ways to Make and Keep Your Office Clean and Green
by Chelsea Camper | Last Updated December 30, 2015In the United States, the availability of reliable utilities is very much taken for granted. Flick a switch and the lights come on. Turn the tap and, voila, there is hot water. Unfortunately, this convenience also breeds a certain contempt for husbanding these valuable and expensive resources.
Most modern American offices hardly ever consider the environmental benefits and cost savings that some simple procedures can produce. The following five measures will more than pay for themselves and will leave a “greener” and cleaner planet besides.
- Setting Timers Properly. The need for lights is
understandable especially when the safety of customers and clients is at stake. Nevertheless, there is simply no point in using them when there is sufficient daylight. Check and adjust your light timers regularly to ensure that they are functioning properly and that they come on at the right time. Better yet, use light sensitive sensors to automatically control the illumination of your office and building. - Install a Smart Thermostat. The newest generation of thermostats are a significantly more effective at efficiently monitoring and using the HVAC system of the modern office. These marvels of technology have algorithms that can automatically ?learn? the most complicated schedule of any business. Simply put, they provide the greatest comfort for staff and clients at the most affordable cost.
- Turn Off Computers, Preferably Laptops, When Not in Use. Somewhere, an old wives tale developed that it damages a computer to turn it off at night. Various explanations are given for this effect but all of them are grossly incorrect. Computers consume a significant amount of unnecessary energy if regularly left on all night. Even in sleep mode does not diminish the power requirements by more than 20 percent.
- Also, laptop computers consume almost 75 per cent less energy than comparable desktop machines. Simply remove the battery to maintain its useful life and use an AC adapter to reap significant cost savings on computers that do not need a large interface.
- Utilize Motion Sensors. Plenty of irregularly used areas exist in most offices. Maintenance or supply closets, restrooms and storage spaces are a few examples. However, on occasion, people do use them and regularly forget to turn off the light. Motion sensors are the obvious solution to this problem. They are extremely affordable and will pay for themselves within a few months.
- Unobstructed Air Flow. Obviously, the proper maintenance of the HVAC system in an office is important to the efficient, cost effective operation of the equipment. It is not as obvious, however, that, integral to this operation, is a free and unobstructed flow of air. Remove any plants of furniture from in front of the return air duct and regularly clean the air filters.
understandable especially when the safety of customers and clients is at stake. Nevertheless, there is simply no point in using them when there is sufficient daylight. Check and adjust your light timers regularly to ensure that they are functioning properly and that they come on at the right time. Better yet, use light sensitive sensors to automatically control the illumination of your office and building.First Series Post: Making and Keeping Your Office Clean and Green: Resources and Recycling
Image: phototouring
