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• Leaving your computer and monitor on when you’re not in the office produces as much greenhouse pollution annually, as driving your car from Melbourne to Perth 1 .
• The energy used in a single 20 storey office block generates about 4000 tonnes of greenhouse gas each year – about the same amount of greenhouse pollution from 1000 cars 2 .
Lighting can account for 60 per cent of energy use in an office 3 . There are 168 hours in a week but most offices are only used for 50 to 60 hours. In the 118 hours that the office isn’t occupied, anything left on consumes more than twice the energy it does during occupied hours.
An easy solution to reducing your office’s energy consumption is to remember to turn off lights and equipment. Switching off lights and other electrical equipment including computers, photocopiers and printers will help save energy and reduce greenhouse gases.
A black balloon can hold about 50 grams of greenhouse gas. Black balloons are a great way to communicate greenhouse gases to staff 4 .
Computers and appliances
• Set your computer so it shuts down the monitor instead of activating a screen saver.
• Switch off computers and monitors at the power point at the end of the day.
• Use timers to automatically turn off equipment when the office is closed.
• Use the ‘energy saver’ or ‘standby’ mode on photocopiers and printers when not in use.
Lighting
• Replace old incandescent globes with energy saving globes.
• Delamp light fittings in over lit areas. Use a lux meter to determine correct lighting levels.
• Use desk lamps or standard lamps where most light is needed, so less lighting is required for the entire room.
• Switch off lights in meeting rooms when not in use.
• Use timers to turn lights on and off and regularly check to ensure they are working.
• Install sensor lighting or push-button switches so lights are turned off when no one in is the room.
• Develop a policy where the last person in the office turns the lights out and to outline holiday shut down procedures.
• Take advantage of natural lighting as much as possible.
In the kitchen and bathrooms
• Switch off all kitchen equipment at the power point.
• Switch off the lights when you leave the toilet.
• Only run the dishwasher when full to save energy and water.
• Do a kitchen/bathroom check at the end of each day to make sure lights are switched off.
Reduce your heating and cooling needs
• Alter the temperature based on the season and climate.
Avoid making it too cold in summer or too hot in winter.
• Purchase programmable thermostats to control heating and cooling.
• Keep air conditioning systems well maintained and regularly serviced to avoid costly breakdowns and malfunctions.

• Install insulation and shading from direct sunlight to help control the office temperature.
• Ensure holiday shutdown of heating and cooling systems.
• Turn off heating to rooms/areas which don’t need it or close the heating vents.
• Keep warm indoors by wearing warm clothing, especially several lightweight layers.
Keep your message simple and communicate regularly.
Be creative and make sure your message gets through.
• Tell people how much energy they can save by switching off equipment and lights.
• Teach people how to use timer switches once they are installed.
• Create an e-newsletter (or add a column to the regular one) to provide regular updates on your energy saving initiatives.
• Use black balloons as a simple way to measure and visually represent your greenhouse gas emissions. One black balloon can hold about 50 grams of greenhouse gases.
• Join state wide campaign such as Earth Hour 5 to reinforce the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Reinforce messages regularly. Use prompts and reminders to keep Resource smart actions top of mind.
• Put stickers above light switches in all rooms to remind people to turn them off.
• Place stickers on computer monitors to remind people to turn them off at the end of the day.
• Work with IT to introduce a desktop background to remind staff to use energy saving modes when they are away from their desks.
• Place posters with ‘switch off’ messages above electrical equipment and appliances.
People are more likely to do something if there’s something in it for them. Positive reinforcement is a great way to gain support for a new initiative.
• Identify and acknowledge energy champions with a public certificate or mention in the staff newsletter.
• Put a small treat on the desk of people who switch off lights or use desk top lights.
• Set an energy saving target and throw a staff lunch to celebrate when you reach it. Provide staff with free energy saving globes to install at home to save energy to celebrate.
• Undertake a night audit and reward staff who have turned computer monitors off with a sweet treat and attach a blown up black balloon to monitors that have been incorrectly left on. The black balloons will create a strong visual message when staff arrive the next day and the treats will be well received.
Evaluate your initiatives to see what is working, what isn’t and where you can improve. Set a time frame for targets, such as 6 or 12 months and stick to it.
• Compare your energy bills from previous months with current bills
• Measure energy usage per staff member or square metre area of office space and set targets to reduce consumption.
• Conduct walk through audits at the end of the day to assess the number of computers and monitors switched off.
• Collate your end of day checklists monthly and calculate how often all the equipment and lights are switched off at the end of the day.
End of day checklists
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Monday
Week 1
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
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Week 2 Week 3
1 Sustainability Victoria www.sustainability.vic.gov.au
2 GreenPower www.greenpower.gov.au
3 Sustainability Victoria www.sustainability.vic.gov.au
4 Save Energy www.saveenergy.vic.gov.au
5 Earth Hour www.earthhour.org
Friday
Week 4
Switch off and save energy © Sustainability Victoria 2011
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Switch off and save energy should be attributed to Sustainability Victoria.
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Published by Sustainability Victoria. Also published on sustainability.vic.gov.au
© Copyright Sustainability Victoria, November 2011 (ENV057)
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