Working from home is becoming more and more popular, but it can be tough to get in the right mindset when your living space doubles as your workspace.
A garden office could be the perfect solution for you!
Not only will you have all the benefits of working from home, but you’ll also get to enjoy nature every day. And if you’re worried about the environment, don’t be; a garden office actually has some great environmental benefits.
Imagine being able to roll out of bed and walk a few feet to your very own office. It doesn’t get much better than that! Plus, with less energy consumption and a better work-life balance, you’ll be doing your bit for the planet, too.
Here are six positive environmental benefits of working from a garden office:
1. No Need To Commute To The Office
There's a reason why we started with the whole commute debate, and it's a big one…
The average person in the UK spends around 58.8 minutes commuting to and from work every day, according to TUC.org.uk. That’s nearly 10 hours a week, or 40 hours a month spent travelling to/from your place of work!
A HUGE plus of working from home in your own garden office is the fact that you can eliminate that commute completely. You can just roll out of bed and be at your desk in mere minutes - no more wasting time (and money) sitting in traffic or on public transport.
The more time you can spend at home with your family, the better and working from a garden office allows you to do just that.
2. Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
(This point is closely linked to the previous point on commuting).
When you don’t have to commute to/from an office, you’re naturally going to reduce your carbon footprint. In fact, the average person in the UK produces around 10 tonnes of carbon dioxide from commuting every year, according to research from Carbonindependent.org.
That means; by ditching the commute and working from your garden office, you could reduce your carbon footprint by almost 4 tonnes - not exactly a small amount!
There are several other ways to reduce your carbon footprint at home. For example, you could:
- Reduce - reuse - recycle.
- Invest in solar panels.
- Install a biomass boiler.
- Use LED light bulbs.
- Line-dry your clothes.
- And so many more!
3. Save Money On Office Rent And Bills
If you're self-employed, you may know how expensive it can be to rent office space. And, if you work for a company, you may have some idea of how much they spend on rent and bills every month.
Working from a garden office can help to eliminate a lot of that - not a penny in rent, and your energy bills will be lower because your energy expenditure will be much lower.
It's also much cheaper to heat your own garden office than it is to heat an entire office building or the whole house. Granted, we know you can adjust the thermostats these days, but it's still more energy-efficient to heat a smaller space.
4. Get Some Fresh Air And Vitamin D
Fresh air is underrated.
We spend far too much time indoors these days, and it's taking a toll on our health. In fact, studies have shown that spending time outdoors can improve your mental and physical health in numerous ways.
Now, we know you're not spending time outdoors in your garden office, but you're much more likely to have the door open or be sat by a window than you would be in a traditional office. And that means you'll be getting some much-needed fresh air and vitamin D!
The sense of well-being that comes from working with the doors open and hearing nature also does wonders for concentration levels and creativity.
5. Less Packaging
This might seem like an odd point to make, but can you imagine how many supermarket sandwiches and drinks in plastic bottles are saved by people working from a garden office?
If you work from home in your garden office, there's no need to buy lunch every day or have those pesky plastic bottles from the vending machine at work. You can just pop out to the kitchen and make your own lunch!
And if you do need to order lunch, you can always request that it comes in recyclable packaging. Of course, this is a little extreme, but you get our point…;0)
6. Eco-Friendly Green Roof
You might be wondering what exactly we mean by "green roof"?
A green roof is a type of roof that's covered in vegetation, which can help insulate your office and reduce your energy bills. They're also amazing for the environment as they help to improve air quality and can even absorb rainwater!
If you're looking for an eco-friendly option for your garden office, a green roof is definitely worth considering.
7. Installing Solar
If you want to further reduce your carbon footprint, how about powering your office via renewable energy?
Solar panels are a great option and today, there are some very stylish ones available on the market.
Using solar rather than traditional forms of energy will not only help the environment but can also save you money on your energy bills in the long run.
Top tip: Use angled brackets so that your panels face the sun for maximum efficiency!
8. Installing A Heat Pump
The heat pumps that are installed in garden rooms double as heaters and air conditioners - this means you’re able to regulate the temperature in your office without having to open the door or window and let all the heat out!
Not only is this more energy-efficient, but it also means that you can keep your office at a comfortable temperature all year round.
If you couple the effect of having a heat pump running off your solar panels, you can have a garden office that is completely powered by renewable energy!
9. Well Insulated
Garden offices are some of the best-insulated outbuildings, due to the fact that they are built with thicker walls, double glazing as standard, and often have better roof insulation, too.
Because of this, you can keep your office at a comfortable temperature all year without having to use much energy.
And, if you do need to use heating or air conditioning, you can rest assured knowing you're not using as much energy as you would in a traditional office.
10. Off-Grid Capabilities And Possibilities
If you really want to reduce your environmental impact, you could consider making your garden office completely off-grid.
This means that you would power it with renewable energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines, and you would collect your own water from rainwater harvesting.
Of course, this is a much more extreme measure, but it's absolutely possible!
In Summary
That’s it, folks: Ten positive environmental benefits of having a garden office!
We are all able to do our bit to help the environment, and working from a garden office is a great way to do that - not only will you be saving energy and reducing your carbon footprint, but you'll also be improving your health by spending more time outdoors as a result!
If you're thinking of installing one, we hope this has inspired you to go ahead and do it.
Do you already have a garden office? We'd love to hear about your experience in the comments below! And if you’re ready to start building your ideal home office space, get in touch today!
