Reduce power consumption in the office - this is how it works!

Last year, electricity prices rose enormously in all regions of Germany – if there are no private photovoltaic systems, this also causes problems for large companies. Especially in companies that offer digital services, there are large basic consumers. These include, for example, servers or air conditioners and cooling systems for PCs. However, most of the consumption here is also made up of seemingly "small things", such as forgotten lamps or other devices.

In this blog post, we want to look at what you can do both as a business owner and as a self-employed person to effectively reduce electricity consumption in the office. We have tried to make the adjustments as simple and quick to implement as possible.

Reduce electricity consumption in the office: these are the biggest energy guzzlers

So that you better understand why there is such an enormously high electricity consumption in many offices, in this section we will first look at the biggest energy guzzlers according to statistics. You may already find incentives here for what you can optimize or adjust in your company.

The biggest energy consumers in offices are:

• Computers, monitors, printers, scanners & co. account for almost 30 percent of electricity consumption
• Lighting systems of all kinds take second place in the ranking
• Air conditioning and heating consume the third most electricity in offices
• Office kitchen appliances are also a major consumer
• Servers and IT infrastructure are also higher up on the list, depending on the type of company

In all these points, there is certainly still room for optimization in your company – however, these costs are rarely really thought about in most companies; electricity bills are simply as high as they are. Especially in times of record electricity prices, however, as a solo self-employed person, you are throwing a lot of money out the window that you could also invest better.

In the following paragraphs, we will therefore look at how you can optimize your electricity consumption, regardless of whether it's an open-plan or single office. We will also show you some hidden consumers that you might not immediately think of when it comes to excessively high electricity consumption. Tip: It's worth staying until the end, because here we explain why an electrically height-adjustable desk from Deskspace is a good investment despite electricity costs.

Simple tips to reduce electricity consumption in the office

You might think that elaborate measures and optimizations are necessary to reduce electricity consumption in your office – but this is usually not the case. In many offices, small adjustments and changes are enough to ensure that the bill at the end of the year is not so high. We would like to take a closer look at these in this article. 

Printers, scanners & co. as well-known power guzzlers

Today, printers or copiers are hardly used in a modern company – most documents are processed directly digitally and no longer filed in paper form. Nevertheless, to this day, many companies still have numerous printers that have not been unplugged. They often just stand around, are used occasionally for a single printout, and otherwise mainly collect dust. What many people do not know, however, is that printers consume a lot of electricity even in standby mode. So, even if it is never used, it has been eating up money for years.

So, we advise you to drastically reduce the number of your printers first. Exceptions apply if you still have to print a lot in your company. One printer per floor is more than enough in most companies today, saving you the cost of standby operation for several. In addition, to reduce electricity consumption in the office, you should turn off these devices after work. This can be done, for example, with an automatic socket that interrupts the power supply.

You can also save a fax machine to reduce electricity consumption in the office. Modern telephone systems are able to forward an incoming fax directly as a PDF to a previously defined email address. One less power consumer that costs you money.

Office lighting: modernization necessary?

Many offices still have the old-fashioned fluorescent tubes that provide an unpleasant and too bright light. These are also not very energy-efficient, which quickly drives up electricity costs enormously. One of the most important measures to reduce electricity consumption in the office is therefore the modernization of the lighting. Here you should spend some money, because depending on the type and age of your lamps, you can save up to 75 percent of the previous lighting costs.

The use of LED lamps is an important first step when it comes to energy-saving lighting in your office. You will quickly notice that consumption is significantly lower compared to conventional incandescent bulbs. In addition, regardless of the size of the office, we recommend controlling the lamps in the individual areas with motion detectors. If no one is in that area of the room for a certain period of time, the lights will automatically turn off there.                                              

The best light you can get in the office is daylight. So, if it is possible with little effort to install new skylights or glass fronts, you should also consider this option. This not only saves electricity but also increases the well-being of you and your employees. A tip for reducing electricity consumption in the office that many people don't think about.

Conclusion & further tips for a modern office

To effectively reduce electricity consumption in your company, you should completely disconnect the largest consumers from the power whenever possible. Sockets with timers, for example, can help by completely switching off all computers in the evening and reactivating them in the morning. In addition, you should regularly maintain air conditioning and heating, because even a small incorrect setting here immediately leads to significantly higher electricity consumption.

Nevertheless, there are also items that consume electricity but make the workday significantly better and more efficient. This includes a height-adjustable desk from Deskspace, with which you always decide how you want to work. It has stepless electric height adjustment, a robust water-repellent surface, and three memory buttons for preset heights. Feel free to check out the detailed product pages.

We hope this blog post has helped you and that you succeed in reducing electricity consumption in your company!