Q. The electricity bills for the practice premises have soared over the past year. Could it be due to all the electronic equipment we use?

A. As you know, energy costs have increased greatly over the past year and electricity prices reflect this. With some simple measures you may be able to save money and become more green at the same time.

Two areas to consider are: 'red eyes' and inefficient appliances. Red eyes are all those power sockets and electronic appliances that are in standby mode. While they wait to be used they consume power. With a bit of planning in your consulting room or the secretary's office, it is possible to connect all the equipment to one or two power strips and turn these off over night and on weekends.

Be careful with your computers; many software vendors like you to keep at least the server, router, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and backup system switched on all the time, to allow for out-of hours backup and remote updates. So before you start switching off computers and associated equipment, talk to your support company.

You can identify inefficient appliances using a plug-in electricity cost and usage calculator. This is a little monitor that you insert between your appliance and the power socket and it measures how many units of electricity the appliance uses. It is inexpensive, and available from most electronics stores, including Maplin.

Older fridges and freezers in particular are likely to be consuming large amounts of electricity and it may be more cost effective to replace them with newer energy-efficient models.

Two other areas to consider are light and heat. Ensure all your bulbs are energy-efficient and check that you are not lighting or heating the premises when it is not in use.