Best Practice Guide

Commercial Office Buildings

Energy Efficiency in Telecommuting

The Home Office

At a time when climate change mitigation techniques are hotly debated and businesses are anticipating heavy regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, many companies are turning to telecommuting as a potential practice to reduce emissions and save energy and costs. Telecommuting can help to reduce emissions associated with worker commutes, however, if poorly planned, can actually lead to an increase in electricity use and emissions. Actual savings are largely determined by the mode of transportation that was previously used to commute to work and the number of miles that are ultimately avoided. Because the majority of commuters in North America get to their destinations in a passenger vehicle or a light duty truck (with average occupancy of one), telecommuting may have greater potential for energy savings in North America than elsewhere where public transportation is used more (such as Japan and Europe). However, such savings can only be realized if companies engage in sound practices that promote energy conservation and efficiency in the home office.

Here are some tips to be sure that your telecommuting policy is having the intended consequences:

  1. Educate your employees. Be sure that employees are energy-literate and aware of the ways in which they can save energy away from a central office. Tips for employees might include wearing appropriate clothing for the weather to avoid unnecessary heating and cooling, turning off lights and unplugging electronic devices when not in use, using task lighting and setting up a home office in a room with windows or other natural light, replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, shading windows to keep the home office cool in the summer, heating or cooling only the room in which the employee is working, and shutting off electronic devices when not in use.
  2. Look at office equipment energy consumption. Do a comparative analysis of the various work-related electronic devices that consume energy (desktop, laptop, copier, printers, phones, answering devices, etc.) by determining their energy usage when employees are on-site versus when employees are telecommuting. Doing such an analysis per capita may be helpful to really determine if energy savings are being realized through telecommuting. This will be insightful with respect to energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions reductions, which are likely to be mandated as state legislation is implemented to comply with AB32 (The Global Warming Solutions Act). It will also be important to track any increases in non-work-related energy use that increases as a result of working at home (ie. a dishwasher may be used more if an employee spends more time at home). Although some energy costs are likely to just be reallocated to the employee's home energy bill, such "rebound effects" may nullify energy savings and do nothing to reduce carbon emissions and overall electricity use in the state. You may consider hiring an energy consultant to do this analysis for you.
  3. Examine the heating and cooling of spaces. Perform a comparative analysis of energy usage to heat and cool the home versus the office space per capita to determine if energy use goes up as a result of more space usage (less shared spaces) and thus, more energy usage for heating and cooling per capita. The heating,cooling, and lighting-related portions of the analysis are primarily influenced by the size of the company office.
  4. Consider the obstacles. Obstacles for the employer, the employee, and the larger community must be addressed when planning a telecommuting program. Fairness to all employees, funding for equipment and services, confidentiality issues, technical problems, and occupational health and safety concerns are just a few of the obstacles that may be a problem for companies considering telecommuting for their employees. Recent studies suggest that the lack of face time with an employee's boss may actually lead to professional stagnation for telecommuters, creating a disadvantage for employees working at home. Urban sprawl has also been cited as a problem associated with telecommuting, which could actually lead to more single passenger driving, as public transit is less available in suburban areas. These problems have many solutions, but must be addressed before proceeding with a telecommuting program.