Ideas for saving power communally, not individually
Jellycat made me think about powersaving this morning.
I wonder how many ways we can think of of saving power on behalf of everyone, (saving the planet type stuff) not just our own utilities bills.
Not using lifts in shops and offices for example. Escalators are on all the time, so we can't do much about them, but once I am fit again, I will try not to use lifts for less than three flights of stairs. Not much I know, but every little helps, surely.
Any other ideas for saving power?
n
Leonie2
I think offices waste vast amounts of energy. Encouraging your office/workplace to be more "green" is probably the biggest contribution you can make.
Lizzie
Ooh what a good topic! I'm afraid that office green-ness is one of my bugbears and I'm getting quite a reputation at work for it! Understandably I think, being green isn't always at the forefront of everyone's minds during the working day but I am trying to encourage them all to get into the habit. We're not too bad though, for a computer company:
we recycle everything we can
we (usually!) switch off monitors when we're away from our desks
we switch off our machines at the end of day
we have low-energy bulbs in all our lights, and we don't usually have any lights on during the day (one whole wall of our office is north-facing windows so we get plenty of daylight)
we don't put the heating on (at the moment.....the computers generate plenty of heat for this time of year)
we car-share as much as possible - our office isn't within walking distance of anyone's house and the bus service is appalling (and expensive). We have 14 people working here and there's usually 8 cars in the car park (could do better I think....)
some of us work at home a couple of times a week, which saves petrol.
Even small things can help, like remembering to get some milk on the way to work rather than making a special trip to town, and refusing a carrier bag for it (which seems to offend a surprisingly large number of shop assistants )
Like I said, it IS a bit of a bugbear for me and sometime, when I get more than 5 minutes to myself, I'm going to do some more research and see what else we can do. Luckily, our bosses are very receptive to green issues so I'm sure they'd be happy with any not-too-radical suggestions!
Leonie2
bump
Aqui
That's a good idea.
I hadn't even thought of not using the lift as saving energy - I just think of it as me using my energy and not getting stuck in a little box!
I'm always turning the light off in the loos at work. Even on a bright sunny day, I always find it left on. I wonder if people do that at home. I must put a notice on the back of the door.
I shall do my bit and do a few posters and things (or is that wasting paper?) I'm already the recycling lady and I buy stuff for the office, which I make sure is environmentally friendly/recycled.
Only trouble is it gets unbearably hot in the office, so we have to have the air con on (I know it's bad!) But what annoys me then is those people that get cold and then put their own electric heaters on. grr.
Becki
I'm not in a office as such but where I work they do have big signs up saying switch off lights.
We don't use the lift apart from sending rails down in it because if we get stuck there is no one to get us out
Can't carry rails down the stairs I'm afraid.
I don't think they are trying to save energy, I think it's a money thing for them
n
I turn loo lights off too... wherever I am, restaurants, shops, staff loos in the hospital... but not patient loos, don't want anyone falling over in the dark.
n
mrutty
Rememeber that turning your PC off with old kit can be a problem as big companies run their updates overnight.
New kit has awake on ping which is very helpful.
nanny-now and forever
we have recycling for old batteries, phone books and the print cartridges and things like that...all the loos are in the centre of the building so you have to switch on the light or it is as black as the devil's nutting bag in there
what irks me more than anything is the appalling waste of food that goes on there..our lot work on 24 hour shifts sop there is a lot of food kicking around but so many people seem franticaly worried that they might die if they get close to the end of the sell by or use by date and just chuck things away unused or open and then chucked out.....ot they go in completely the other direction and keep stuff in the fridge till it grows fur and goes all honky...they should bring just enough for the day and not keep it hanging round, it's a waste and the very least and a health hazard as well..........
n
I have to know.
What on earth is "awake on ping"
Shall we have a prize for best anagram?
There is probably a website which will do this for you.... I'll know if you use it, I have eyes you know....
n
Haize
gnaw on a pike
But what it actually means (I'm talking about "awake on ping", obviously!) is that the user's computer can be turned off at night, and when there are updates, the server sends it a signal to wake up.
My wonderful OH used to telephone his computer on the way home from school, so that it'd be booted up by the time he was there
Mind you, one of my rather lazy friends made a lego technic thing that pressed the "on" switch of his computer when he used the remote controller. So it would be booted up by the time he was out of bed.
On topic, some companies will have buildings suitable for wind generators and so on. However, that means they have to be owners of the building, which not all are.
Hmm, actually taking scrap printer paper for using the other side as notepads would be a good one. Throwing it in the recycle bin is good, but getting a second use out of it before that is even better. So having a tray for bits that didn't print right etc next to the printer would be a good idea, and every now and then, someone staple in stacks of 10-15 sheets, and place on top of the notepads in the store room. That way you actually have to lift the re-used paper to get to the new pads, which helps the lazier people make the right choice
n
pagan wine ok
Not that I'm obsessed with the shed warming or anything.
We use the unused side of paper at home, there's always a little heap beside the phone. I like the idea of putting the new "pads" on top of the bought ones though.... or even moving the bought ones to the very back of the cupboard under something like a hundred unboxed and neatly stacked pencils.
Plastic biros bug me. I am a pencil user myself. I know the ones we buy at work aren't the lind made out of recycled plastic cups or anything, so I just hope the wood in them isn't virgin forest.
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