The idea of ditching the daily commute and working from home is an appealing one, but to make it work you need to have the right work space. A garden office gives you the ideal place to work without stealing from your living space and also allows you to maintain a nice separation between your work and home life.

When adding any space to your home, it’s a good idea to make it as eco-friendly and energy efficient as possible to help keep your bills and carbon footprint down. A garden office is no exception and with some smart choices you easily end up with a space that is great to use and good for the environment.

Choose the right materials

Wood is one of the most popular materials for making a home office and, fortunately, it is also pretty eco-friendly, as long as you pick the right sort. The key is to ensure that your wood comes from sustainable plantations where trees that are cut down will be replaced. It’s also best to use wood from a local source where possible to cut down the carbon footprint of transportation.

Having enough insulation is also highly important as this will reduce the amount of energy needed to heat your office, keeping it comfortable and reducing your fuel bill and environmental impact. A lightweight steel roof, such as Metrotile’s Aquapan roofing, is light enough for use on garden offices, thin enough to allow plenty of room for insulation and strong enough to stand-up to even the most extreme weather.

Get smart with your energy usage

Home offices are often full of power hungry equipment such as computers, but energy efficient fixtures and fittings including LED light bulbs and underfloor heating can make a big difference to your overall energy consumption. It’s a good idea to make sure you have plenty of window space, allowing you to take advantage of natural light, just as long as they have good enough thermal properties to prevent excessive heat loss. It’s also worth considering installing solar panels as these can often produce all the energy you need for a standard home office.

Plan your space efficiently

Although it can be easy to get carried away when designing your perfect home work space, keeping your ambitions more modest is one of the best ways to keep things green. A smaller office can be just as comfortable to work in as long as you plan the space well, including plenty of good storage. The smaller your office, the fewer materials it will use and the less energy it will require to heat and light, making a significant impact on its overall eco-friendliness.

The advantages of Metrotile’s Aquapan roofing

Light enough to use on most types of building, even relatively lightweight structures such as garden offices and stables, Aquapan is quick and easy to install making it ideal both for professionals and DIY builders. High quality fixings and an innovative protective coating makes Aquapan fully wind and water tight and we are so confident of that we offer a 15 year weatherproof guarantee.

To find out more or to ask for a quote, call Metrotile today on 01249 658 514 or use our contact form for a swift response.