Simple Ways To Get Energy Efficient

We recently told our local independent insurance agent partners that we’re making more of the information they need available online. The records we shifted to being completely electronic were formerly generated each month, then printed and mailed to agencies. A lot of the time, these particular records didn’t say anything more than they had the previous month; in short, there was no reason that agents needed to see them every month in print.

The records are still available, and we made it clear to our agent partners where they can find them on the Hastings website. Nothing was taken away; it was just moved. But going online had the beneficial side-effect of saving Hastings a little energy and money: less to print means less paper, ink, and electricity used.

A little money-saving, a little bit of consideration for the amount of resources we’re using and waste we’re creating; there’s really no drawback to moving some things fully online. In fact, here at Hastings we have an entire “Go Green” initiative to help our agents streamline the amount of unnecessary paper we send to them.

What can you do to make your office more energy efficient?

Lighting

• Maybe the simplest thing to do is simply turn off the lights whenever you’re not in a room. Many of the lights in our office are connected to motion sensors, so if there’s no one moving in a room the lights will shut off.
• Almost as easy is using better, more energy-efficient lightbulbs. Compact fluorescent or LED bulbs are much less wasteful than old-fashioned incandescent bulbs.
• If you’re building new or remodeling a building, allow as much natural light as possible into the office. Even rearranging desks or opening blinds from time to time can help maximize the amount of sun and minimize the amount of artificial light you receive.

Heating and Cooling

• The sun can help warm your office, too… and sometimes you’ll want to keep the blinds closed if it gets too hot! 
• Contact an HVAC professional to check your system. A simple cleaning and review of your equipment can result in unexpected savings.
• Check the thermostat to make sure it’s operating efficiently for the times your office is open and occupied. This may be a challenge for a larger business, but a small office can probably manage it easily.

Office Equipment

• We’re saving paper with our Go Green ideas, and you can do the same. You probably already look at a lot of documents in PDF form on computers, or email things back and forth. Once in a while, though, it may be easier to print something out. Just make sure what you’re printing is all you need — a page that has one printed word on it overflowing from the previous page is a waste.
• Put your office computers into sleep mode when you’re not using them for a while. That’s also an opportunity for extra security: when the computer wakes back up, you’ll have to re-enter your password to get access. When it’s time to go home for the night, turn the computer completely off. No need to keep a computer waiting for 10 to 12 hours.
• Look for energy-efficient equipment from printers and copiers to office kitchen appliances when it’s time for something new.

Are any of these energy efficiency ideas going to save the environment? Not by themselves, but they will help make your office a little less wasteful, and that can be where you really see a savings.