Home is Where the Office Is

More and more Americans are working at home. And that means more and more Americans are creating home offices. Today's home office can be anything from a laptop at the kitchen table, to a sophisticated home addition with gadgets galore, separate electrical service and even a separate entry door. However you configure your home office, do it while keeping energy and efficiency in mind:

• Position the work area near natural light.
• Use task lighting in areas where you'll do most work.
• Use halogen lamps for more light with greater efficiency.
• Use bright surfaces to reflect more light.
• Purchase Energy Star rated office appliances.
• Consider purchasing a combination copier/fax/scanner to save space and energy.
• Install surge protectors and battery backups on sensitive equipment.
• Connect your computer to the Internet via cable modem or DSL if possible. It saves energy because it's 50-100 times faster than a phone modem.
• Network computers using a cable or DSL router to save money and energy.
• Install a separate heating zone in your office and lower the temperature in the rest of the home during the workday.
• Make sure to use the "sleep" setting on computers and other office equipment to save energy.
• Establish an express package account for pickup and delivery at home to save time and energy.
• Network with other home/office workers in your neighborhood. Agree to share equipment as backups in case of failure.