If you have or need a copy machine in your Home Office, please realize that this will be one of your highest energy users. A portable electric heater is more if it is used for heat, say in your basement's Home Office.
(Please visit our Comfort Appliances section to read more about electric heaters)

Don't be fooled by the smaller size or the lower production volume of your Home Office copier. Even small Home Office copy machines will consume an average of 1,500 watts of electricity when in use. The Sleep or energy saving mode can consume an average of 60 watts.

- When buying a copy machine make sure that an energy saving sleep mode feature is included.

- Copiers that have energy saving features will power down into the sleep mode after a set amount of
non-used time. Make sure this amount of time is about 5 minutes or so.

- Make sure that the model can come out of the sleep mode in a short amount of time to make a copy again.

- Also realize to help the environment the copier should have the feature to copy on both sides of paper.

- Sleep Modes save SOME energy.

- Shutting off any office equipment that will not be used within the next hour is a better way to save energy. Shutting off saves MORE energy.

- Saving ALL the energy is done by using a Power Strip specifically for your copier that protects your equipment against power surges. (Power Surges, aka spikes or drops in voltage are more common from your utility company than lightning strikes which will fry everything no matter what Power Strip you have when there is a "direct" strike) You can mount your Power Strip on the side or back of the copier's stand so it is within easy reach and allows you to turn off the printer all together.

Watchdog in Action:
This will allow you when leaving for lunch, a meeting, break-time, to go home, or when you know you don't need the copier anymore at this time: to shut off your copier and then turn off the switch on the Power Strip stopping all electrical consumption. That is easy and you are now saving 100% on the electric bill, because the appliance can no longer draw any electricity through the plug to maintain a standby mode or to maintain time on the digital clock built into the screen of the copier.*
(Do you really need another clock keeping time?)

Now the best energy management of a copy machine, if possible, is to leave all the copies you have to make until the end of the morning or afternoon. Turning your copier on only once or twice for the day, make all your copies at that time, shut off and shut down with a power strip switch.

There is another alternative - If you make only a few copies, use a Fax machine. For more information on this energy saving possibility, visit our page on Fax machines by clicking on the Fax Machine Link below.