• Lighting & Electrical Appliances
• Heating
• Water
• Materials & Recycling

As part of the report we will produce for you as a result of the survey we will provide full details of useful organisations who can provide information, advice, products and services related to the above.  If you would like this information now please email zwin@talk21.com

Lighting & Electrical Appliances

• Replace traditional tungsten bulbs with energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs which use up to 80% less electricity. Replacing just one ordinary 100W bulb with a compact fluorescent could save you up to £10 per year on your electricity bill, plus energy efficient bulbs will last for 6-12 years. 38mm fluorescent tubes used in strip lights can be replaced with 26mm tubes as these are also more energy efficient.

• Use timers or sensor switches on lighting in areas that are only used occasionally.

• Remember to turn off appliances and lights that do not need to be used and have some sort of shut down procedure at the end of the day. Left on overnight, a photocopier wastes enough energy to make 5,300 A4 copies and a computer monitor left on overnight wastes enough energy to print 800 A4 sheets.

• Make sure energy saving features on computer monitors, printers and photocopiers are activated.

• When buying new appliances take into consideration their energy consumption rating. For office equipment such as faxes, computers, monitors, printers and photocopiers purchase equipment with a high US-EPA 'Energy Star Standards' rating. For white goods such as kettles and fridges refer to Eco-labelling, where the efficiency is graded from A to F (A being very energy efficient).

Heating

• In centrally heated buildings, check that the heating control's timeswitch or programmer is set to heat the building for the minimum time required and at a minimum temperature commensurate with comfort. 10% of heating costs can be saved by reducing the temperature of rooms by just 1°C.

• Consider installing thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) to allow for individual adjustment of each room's temperature.

• If replacing your main boiler, replace it with a high efficiency condensing boiler. This is the most efficient type of boiler available and typically converts 85% of fuel into heat, compared with 60-70% from standard boilers.

Water

• Repairing a dripping tap can save 12,000 litres of water per year, which is worth £10 - £15. Make sure all water fixtures are regularly maintained.

• Consider installing spray taps which use 50% of the water used by a conventional tap, or pneumatic press taps that can not be left switched on by accident.

• Any toilet cistern installed before 1993 is likely to use up to 9 litres per flush. Installing a 'Hippo' bag or similar cistern dam will reduce the amount of water used by 2-3 litres per flush. These are available free of charge from most water companies and based on 30 flushes per day, 5 days a week, could save you around £25 per year.

• Replace the timed flush mechanism on urinals with an occupant sensor so that the urinal will only flush when in use. Based on a timed mechanism set for urinal flushing every 30 minutes an occupancy sensor could save in the region of £300 per year.

Materials & Recycling

• Buy recycled - purchasing departments should order paper, envelopes, packaging and other materials made from recycled materials or with a high specified recycled content. This will include plastic goods such as pens, rulers and bins, which can be made from recycled plastic vending cups. You should also buy toilet paper and paper hand towels made from recycled paper.

• Set up recycling bins to separate out waste paper, glass bottles, cans and any other recyclable materials for collection and recycling. Some paper recycling companies will collect good quality office paper free of charge.

• For a free copy of Richmond’s business directory of recycling services for London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames businesses, produced and maintained by ZWIN, see Recycling Directory Link.

• Greatly reduce the amount of paper used in the office by setting printers and copiers to make double-sided prints or copies.

• Use e-mail wherever possible to transmit documents electronically and don't automatically print e-mails. Read them and then file them electronically. Set up an intranet and keep electronic versions of staff reference material on a server rather than giving everyone printed copies.

• Recycle toner and printer cartridges. Use a stationery supplier who will collect used cartridges for recycling.

• Don't automatically replace old or worn out computers or electrical equipment - check to see if they can be refurbished or upgraded as new technology is developed. If you do need to dispose of them, contact Richmond Council as old mobile phones can be recycled and office equipment can be offered for use in schools, voluntary groups or charities.