How to reduce your environmental impact by teleworking?

The practice of teleworking has become widespread and intensified since the health crisis. According to one study carried out by Malakoff Humanis in February 2021, the trend is moving towards “a hybrid model” in which 86% of teleworkers wish to continue this practice by teleworking two days a week. Good idea, provided you are well surrounded by your management and create the whole environment conducive to working from home serenely. Reconciling efficiency, sustainable development and personal well-being is possible!

The work environment

First of all, it is recommended toset up a space dedicated to telework at your home. Ideally, in an isolated room. But since not everyone lives in a mansion, your space must at least be bright, with a temperature of 21°C and in which you can leave all your work things. A sound environment that is not too noisy is also important so that you can concentrate, make phone calls quietly and are not constantly disturbed by the washing machine or roommates.

• Mistake #1: Did you know thata temperature of 19°C in the living rooms was more than enough? This temperature even drops to 17°C in the bedrooms! Indeed, at bedtime, it promotes falling asleep since our brain automatically lowers our body temperature. A cool bedroom will therefore provide thermal comfort that will bring you to sleep more quickly! In the end, if you lower the temperature of your home by 1°C, you achieve a reduction in consumption of 7%. For your budget as well as for the Planet, these energy savings are far from negligible. And for the more cautious, it is always possible to adopt a thick sweater and an extra pair of socks.

And you, do you have any other ideas for reducing your energy consumption? Share them on EDF Pulse & You and try to win prizessuch as a netatmo thermostat, a hydrao shower set to save water or a kindle e-reader to save paper.

The pace of work

It is important to maintain a work rhythm like the one you would have in the office, because the reasons for diversion are numerous. Getting up at the same time, getting dressed, not having breakfast in front of the screen… so many good tips for pacing your day and above all succeeding in separating your personal and professional life as much as possible so as not to risk overwork! It is particularly advisable to take time for lunch and to organize regular breaks if possible at a fixed time, 15 minutes every two hours as recommended by theNational Institute for Research and Security (INRS).

If you follow these breaks, remember to turn off your screen or put your laptop to sleep, or even turn it off completely when you’re done working. Not only will this reduce its power consumption when you’re not using it, but your computer will restart faster!

The right tools

Of course, a computer with a screen large enough to don’t strain your eyesight, a webcam and an audio headset for videoconferences are part of the survival equipment in the event of teleworking. On the smartphone side, it is better to opt for a fairly recent model, less than three years old if possible to be able to accommodate all the applications necessary for the smooth running of your mission. A good Internet connection is also essential with a permanently connected box. Afterwards, it’s up to you to choose to switch to Wi-Fi or wired for the computer and rather use 4G (or 5G for the early adopters…) for mobile use.

• Mistake #2: Did you know that the total consumption of a box equivalent to that of a refrigerator? It is therefore recommended, when you can (for example, when you go on vacation) to cut it. In general, it’s best to unplug any electrical devices you’re not using. Is this a reflex that you have already adopted?
• Mistake #3: The average lifespan of a smartphone in France is between 23 and 37 months. However, going from 2 to 4 years of use could improve 50% of its environmental balance sheet. Although most of the energy consumption of a smartphone is related to its manufacture (136 kWh on average to be produced), what do you think of the idea of ​​slowing down the renewal of its telephone equipment? To reduce the energy consumption of your smartphones, it is also possible to adopt simple gestures: activate energy saving mode, “dark mode” or “dark mode” if your smartphone is equipped for this feature, or yet adjust the screen brightness automatically based on your lighting conditions.
• Mistake #4: Did you know that it was recommended to use a Wi-Fi connection rather than 4G on mobile phones? According to‘Ademe, this connection uses less network power. An idea that we don’t necessarily think of and that can be applied to our daily lives. And you, do you have any other tips for reducing the energy impact on a daily basis? Share them with us!

Digital best practices

Everything is therefore ready for you to practice your profession in the best conditions. Especially since with technological developments, meetings can take place remotely in peace, preferably in video to be able to see colleagues! In addition to instant messaging, collaborative work tools that allow you to work remotely on the same files, email remains the perfect tool for communicating peacefully with all your interlocutors, even those who are not directly concerned, but this allows you to leave a trace in the event of a problem. For the rest, a good search engine and it’s up to you to access all the sites useful to your profession!

• Mistake #5: It’s better to limit the video stream as much as possiblewhich consumes 1,000 times more bandwidth, and therefore energy, than the audio stream. A practice that is not without consequences on the electricity bill. Note that it is also possible to lower the resolution of the videos you consume! Most of our devices do not require watching content in such high quality. If you’re watching a movie on your computer, you can lower the resolution to 720p, or 480p if it’s on your smartphone.
• Mistake #6: The energy needed when sendinga mail corresponds to that for one hour of bulb! Did you know ? Each French person stores 10,000 to 50,000 e-mails unnecessarily. All this data is stored in data centers, which consume 200 TWh per year and produce 0.3% of greenhouse gases, according to an article published in Nature. Thus, there are concrete and simple solutions to adopt: prefer the telephone (possibly the SMS) to e-mail; unsubscribe from all unnecessary newsletters and subscriptions; sort your mailbox regularly!
• Mistake #7: Greenhouse gas emissions are divided by four by going directly to the address of the site, rather than going through a query on a search engine. Do not hesitate to consult the history, create favorites, or type the exact URL. You can also close unused tabs (whose automatic refresh consumes data) and periodically delete cookies.

If you have ideas to limit the energy crisis in your home, do not hesitate to share them with the community of Pulseurs before May 30 on EDF Pulse & You. The prizes to be won will help you reduce your energy consumption!

Subject produced in partnership with EDF teams.