This is Day 4 in the 31 Days to Become a More Efficient Virtual Assistant Series
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I’m not 100% convinced the IRS gives home based business owners all we deserve when it comes to tax write-offs for our home office space. I live in Florida and we pretty much run our central air year round and it’s not as though I can only cool my office! If I were working a traditional office job I’d have my thermostat set at a much higher temperature while I was away and my electric bill would be significantly less than it is.
The second place I rented in Florida was an energy vampire and my utility bills were incredibly high due to a number of lousy energy leaks the owners refused to address. That lead me to spending an afternoon figuring out what I could implement, as a renter, which would give me a decent return on my investment but also something I could take with me when I moved out.
I’m not going to get long-winded here with just how many ways you can reduce your energy usage. Here are two inexpensive energy-saving devices I purchased and I can easily take them with me when I move to a new condo/house. And, if you do want to learn more, I recommend checking out EnergyCircleTV’s YouTube Channel and website.
Smart Strip SCG3 Energy Saving Power Strip with Autoswitching Technology – this “smart” power strip enables you to chose a control device. All other outlets on the strip (except for the “always on” outlet) will automatically turn off, preventing vampire energy usage, once the control device has been turned off.
How I use it: My control device is my laptop. Once my laptop is turned off I don’t have any need for my shredder, printer and fancy, schmancy standing desk to be pulling power. My always on device is the lamp as I’ll often use that even after the laptop is off.
Belkin Conserve Socket – I discovered this device from this 5 Energy-Saving Gadgets post and immediately realized I could easily save money and reduce energy usage by utilizing this with my cell phone charger. Another great use for one would be with your laptop.
Small investments into energy savings devices can have a positive impact on reducing your energy bills. After all, I’m sure you can find somewhere else to spend the money, right?
What other energy savings devices do you use? Leave them in the comments below!