Power Plants

Within power plants, they only produce around 30% of the energy into useable electricity which means that up to 75% of the energy is lost in fuel at the beginning of the process.

Lighting

It is really easy to waste energy in the office when it comes to lighting. Around 15% of energy consumption relates to lighting and the following contributes to this figure:

• Leaving blinds closed and lights on
• Leaving the lights on in empty rooms
• Not using the right lighting equipment, for instance discoloured diffusers, inefficient reflectors and insufficient controls.

Equipment

Again, 15% of energy consumption comes from the equipment used in offices. By using screen savers and old computers, this wastes more energy than if you were to switch your monitor off or to use new computers. Also using over sized equipment where it is not necessary, wastes energy. If you are to leave equipment on or on standby this will add a large amount of money to your electricity bill.

Heating

Around 20-40% of energy costs come from the heating in your office.

• Keeping your heating on above 19^oc
• Furniture covering heat
• Poor insulation such as pipes, boilers and buildings
• Controls that are available to everybody
• Sensors near to a drought or heat

All of the above points are the most significant aspects to consider when wasting energy.

Ventilation and Air Conditioning

Again 20-40% of your energy costs come from ventilation and air conditioning. It is easy to say whether you are wasting energy by looking at particular things around the office such as:

• Are you cooling below 24^oc?
• Are the vents blocked?
• Hidden sources of heat for instance, pipework, equipment and solar gain
• Do you have fixed speed fans
• Is it better to open windows and doors?

Water

Consider this, a dripping tap can waste 1,200 litres of water a year and a trickling tap can waste 32,000 litres a year, just make sure that your staff canteen or staff toilets do not have taps dripping!

Cars

The average car can emit approximately three times it's weight in carbon dioxide, this amount is only to transport one person to work and back a day. Along with this, if you left your window open overnight, it would collect enough energy to drive a small car over 35 miles!