Teleworking or running a home-based business can save money and help the environment by decreasing carbon emissions from commuting. ComEd recommends several tips for customers to save more money and make a bigger impact on the environment by better managing energy usage in their home offices.

Teleworking is well on its way to becoming a mainstay in today's work environment. According to the U.S. Labor Department, about 14 million workers were telecommuting part-time in 2004 and 7 million were running home-based businesses. Employed Americans working remotely at least one day a month increased by 63 percent from 2004 to 2006, according to a survey by WorldAtWork*. The Society of Human Resource Management's 2007 benefits survey showed that 56 percent of U.S. companies surveyed offered some form of telecommuting in 2007, up 5 percent from 2006.

Even with the widely touted environmental benefit of reduced gas consumption, ComEd advises its teleworking customers to pay close attention to their home energy use. Consumer electronics account for 15 percent of household electricity use.

Unplug or turn off unnecessary electronics

One of the most significant contributors to unnecessary energy usage in your home office is equipment that is typically left on 24 hours a day. Copiers, printers and fax machines are the most energy-intensive type of office equipment because of the amount of time they are left on when not in use. For example, a teleworking customer in a 1,200-square-foot condo in Chicago could save roughly $150 to $250 per year by turning off their two computers overnight.

Look out for "phantom load"

Turning off electronics can make a difference, but many home electronics may still use a small amount of electricity even when turned off, which is called phantom load. Phantom load can range from a few watts to as much as 20 or even 40 watts per item. For instance, you save 50 percent of energy when you turn off your laser printer rather than leaving it idle, but you save the remaining 50 percent when you unplug it.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 75 percent of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed when they are turned off, adding up to 10 percent to monthly electric bills. Using a power strip for your computer and all peripheral equipment allows you to completely disconnect the power supply from the power source, eliminating standby power consumption.

Additional tips to reduce energy usage in your home office

• Use power management features or unplug unused equipment when not in use.
• Unplug any battery chargers, cell phone chargers or power adapters when not in use.
• Make sure your office lighting is replaced with compact fluorescent light bulbs.
• Turn off lights and other electronics throughout your home while you are in your home office, particularly televisions, video game systems and stereos.

One of the best defenses against unnecessary energy usage in your home office is selecting ENERGY STAR qualified office equipment, which helps save energy through energy-efficient designs and power management features, such as standby, hibernation or sleep. ENERGY STAR qualified imaging equipment delivers the same performance as less efficient models, but is 25 percent more efficient on average

Efficient designs also help equipment run cooler and last longer, leading to cost and energy savings on air conditioning and maintenance.

Managing energy usage in your home office is one of ComEd's 12 Ways to Green campaign, which aims to educate customers about ways to save money and reduce their carbon footprint. Launched last year, 12 Ways to Green is a component of Exelon 2020, a comprehensive environmental strategy to reduce, offset, or displace more than 15 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year by 2020 among ComEd's parent, Exelon, its subsidiaries, and customers.