How To Save On Energy In Your Home Office – Create A Great Business

When you think of an ‘office’ you may think of a large expanse of a commercial building, solely used to go about daily, working life. But that’s not all that an office or business has to be – in fact, more and more people are choosing to create an office in their home, where they can build their business and travel along the self-employed path.

While a home business probably won’t require a good business gas supplier, the importance of energy efficiency and reducing your energy consumption is still of paramount importance. While you may share your home with family members, all of whom are already doing their bit for the environment by being a little green, your efforts shouldn’t stop there.

The concept of working from home must undoubtedly appeal to most people, but it’s certainly not easy. Building a successful work-life balance can be difficult and you need to be able to keep the distractions at bay. Treat your working day as though you’re in an office elsewhere, and don’t see it as a chance to potter around and run errands as well as work.

There are plenty of ways how to save on energy in your home office which will have a knock-on effect – not just on the environment but on your pocket, too. The less energy you have to use to operate your business, the more profit you will see in your bank and the more enjoyment you will have with your loved ones, reaping the rewards of your hard work.

Remember that when you’re working at home, it’s you who has to foot the bills. Every time you have a light on, or the heating running, or the kettle boiling for that essential cup of tea, it’s your pocket that the bill is coming out of. A successful home business is one that doesn’t end up paying through the nose on utilities and overheads when it doesn’t have to – here’s some great ways to save energy in your home office.

• Whenever you take a break or finish for the day, turn off the electricity you’re not using in the interim period
• Keep windows closed when it’s cold to prevent turning the heating up unnecessarily
• Turn your thermostat down during the winter months – pop a jumper on if you have to!
• Reduce the heating usage in areas of your home that you don’t use during the day. If family are out, at school or work, you don’t need heating to be on anywhere other than where you’re working.
• Boil just enough water for that essential brew – you don’t need to fill a whole kettle
• Use energy saving light bulbs wherever you can
• Use natural light where possible, so that you don’t have to use electricity to light the room
• Activate the energy saving mode on your computer, if it has one
• Turn everything off overnight, don’t just resort to stand-by mode.

This piece was written in association with British Gas. If you decide to expand your home office and move to commercial premises, no matter how small, head online to http://www.britishgas.co.uk/business/ for further information about the utilities available.