A growing number of people today are opting to work from home to save time and energy on daily commutes to and from the office and food expenses. But in doing so, your electricity bill may jack up due to the many electronic devices adding up to the residential appliances that are in use during most part of the day. Your profit is not the only one that is hurting due to higher electric costs, but it also greatly affects the environment. Lowering your carbon footprint and decreasing energy usage can be a stretch for a lot of stay-at-home entrepreneurs, but there are simple ways you can employ to help you reduce your energy usage.

1. Change to CFLs. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are much cooler and save more energy than the regular light bulbs. In addition to lower energy consumption, it also lasts five times longer than the regular light bulb, which offers more savings in the long run.

2. Change your monitor. Your personal computer probably consumes more energy than you think. Shedding a couple hundred dollars once rather than a mounting energy bill each month will save you more money. Choose an energy-saving LCD monitor to replace your old CRT one. This will probably prove to be the wisest investment you can get for your home office.

3. Manage your office equipment wisely. When not needed in longer periods, turn off devices like the printer, copier, fax machine, etc. Activate the power management features to help save energy when equipments are not in use for a short time. Through these methods of powering down your equipment, energy costs will be lowered and you will benefit from a longer life span of your electronic devices.

4. Use a power strip. Some devices, even when turned off, continue to consume small amounts of power. Using a power strip will help you manage your devices by allowing you to turn off your electricity all at once. Through this, you will save a lot of effort by plugging and unplugging each appliance when not in use, and save up on electricity by powering down rather than just leaving them on all the time.

5. Be mindful of your heating and cooling systems. Do not discount the fact that the ventilation in your home is also part of your home office expense. During the day, turn of the ventilation system in rooms that are not in use. Clean your air conditioning filters for maximum efficiency, and open your drapes and windows to allow the sun and fresh air to enter the room.

6. Invest in a Kill-A-Watt. This is a new device that will help you keep track of your energy consumption by simply plugging it to a wall and then connecting your electronic devices and power strip to it. This device will help you find out your exact kilowatt usage, calculate your electricity expenses, and find out which appliances are taking up the bulk of your monthly electricity.

Follow these simple steps and practice good energy saving methods and you will surely see a difference in the amount of your monthly energy bill. After you have employed these to your home office and seen the difference, try doing it to the rest of your household and see a big change in your energy consumption.